Over five short months in 2018, boygenius accidentally conceived their debut EP. Lucy Dacus had first opened for one of Julien Baker’s gigs in Washington D.C. and their shared Southern upbringing and penchant for storytelling drew them together. It wasn’t long before Phoebe Bridgers, a fellow practitioner in the art of heart-open songwriting, came up in their conversations. Then, when the trio were set to share a tour itinerary, they thought it’d be fun to record music together as a promotional tool. As fate would have it, however, they became fast friends and the seven-inch they initially planned to record as tour promo became a critically acclaimed debut, setting the table for one of music’s most-clamoured collaborations.
In a five-star review, NME called their self-titled EP, “an astonishing record that leaves you yearning for more”. Five years later and the yearning is finally over as the band are set to release ‘the record’, their first full-length album (March 31). Separately, Bridgers, Dacus and Baker have carved their own paths to indie-rock success, garnering the cosigns of their peers, selling out shows and picking up Grammy nominations along the way. As boygenius they’ve combined their individual talents and purviews to not only evolve their personal artistic pursuits but to reach a wider audience than they would’ve individually. “While our music is very different stylistically, I think we all have similar emotions to end quandaries that we’re trying to get at,” Baker told Vogue of their artistic connection. Those similar emotions are not only shared between indie rock’s brightest supergroup, but it’s what their fans resonate with as well.