March 10, 2023 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | By Katie Rowley
The arrival of March brought many things into the world: a new block, semi-warm Colorado weather, and, most importantly, the promise of a new boygenius album to be released on March 31. That’s right, in just under a month, the “supergroup” known as boygenius will be releasing their debut album “The Record,”and the indie sad girls could not be more excited.
Let’s back up for a second – say you’ve never heard of boygenius. Who are they? Why are we excited? Who are the boys? And why are they so smart? Do not fret, because I am here to answer all of your questions.
The group is a musical trio comprised of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker, all of whom have made a name for themselves with successful solo careers. They became familiar with each other through past touring together, and so their niche genre of music, “indie-sad-girl,” had led to a natural grouping together.
The group released their first EP in October 2018, titled “boygenius.” A devastating six song, 22-minute project they had worked on, and spent the rest of 2018 touring around the U.S. And I would pay so much money to go back in time and be at one of those shows.
This EP, and the group itself, would later gain a huge following in 2020 and 2021, likely due to TikTok (which is how I found them. I know… embarrassing to admit).
Like with Aang from “Avatar the Last Airbender,” just when the world needed them the most, they vanished. Well, not really – they were busy working on their own music.
Bridgers has had the most prominent solo career: releasing two albums and numerous side projects, gaining four Grammy nominations for her album “Punisher” alone, taking her music on an international two-year tour, as well as earning herself a spot as an opener for Taylor Swift on her upcoming “The Eras” tour.
Dacus and Baker have also risen to more notable fame recently, both releasing multiple studio albums and touring those albums within the last couple years.
Despite their own solo adventures, the three of them continued to be close friends and contributed backing vocals on their counterparts’ albums. They also reunited in late 2021 for a charity show in San Francisco, but there was no promise nor certainty of new music from the group.
Thankfully, in January, the three of them announced that they “got the band back together,” and their first album “The Record”is set to come out later in the year. The announcement promised a record of 12 songs, hopefully each one more depressing than the last. Three of the songs were also released in January: “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue,” giving fans a taste of what they could expect in Mar. And, as a fan, it was enough to satiate my need for more boygenius music.
The group also released another single at the beginning of March titled “Not Strong Enough.” And, I am not sure if I am strong enough to wait for the full release of this album. I need it now.
So, as we wait in anticipation to hear the rest of the album, my fantasies drift to the possibility of a second boygenius tour. They are set to play at different music festivals in the Spring, including Coachella; Bridgers is opening for Taylor Swift, a possible setback for the group, but, maybe this fall they’ll hit the road? I’ll be keeping my eyes open and hoping I have enough money in my bank account.