It’s been over a month since the release of their first album, The Record, and social media is still buzzing over boygenius. Reaching number one on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart and number two on the Top Album Sales, The Record has received copious amounts of praise, with five-star reviews from NME and The Observer, and dubbed an instant classic by Rolling Stone. The supergroup also provides extremely important representation for the LGBTQ+ community; bringing together three open and proud queer women who make LGBTQ+ music for LGBTQ+ people.
Comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, boygenius was formed in 2018 after the trio were introduced to one other as fellow up-and-comers in the indie scene. Three incredible solo artists in their own right, boygenius mixes indie rock and mellow acoustic with topics that range from love and loss to growing up queer in church, drawing them a fierce following of LGBTQ+ fans.
In 2018 they wrote their debut, self-titled EP, boygenius, after deciding to co-headline a tour together. The EP was written, recorded, and produced in just four days. An instant success, the EP received critical acclaim. The trio continued to collaborate after the release of their EP, on Bridgers’ Grammy-nominated album Punisher, Dacus’ Home Video, and Baker’s Little Oblivions.
Through their collaborations on both their solo work and work together as a group, boygenius has allowed for the creation of a supergroup that truly encapsulates queer friendship, which is something that isn’t shown enough in mainstream media. In every interview and photo together, the trio’s love for each other shines so brightly. Friendship is a defining theme on The Record, illustrated in “Leonard Cohen” and “Satanist”. This is something that has been valued and appreciated by their very loving and supportive fanbase who truly treasure the queer representation that boygenius are bringing to the music industry.
One of the most remarkable things about the group is that their whole EP and album was almost entirely created by women. Men so heavily dominate the music industry; only men were nominated for this year's Artist of the Year at the Brit Awards, for example. Therefore, to see an album created by women - especially queer women - is incredibly empowering. In an interview with The New York Times, the trio opened up about their decision to name the band boygenius. Dacus explained that it came from “boys and men we know who’ve been told that they are geniuses since they could hear.” Baker added that it is the “archetype of the tortured genius, specifically male artist who has been told since birth that their every thought is not only worthwhile but brilliant.”
To accompany The Record, the trio released boygenius - the film, a fourteen-minute short film directed by Kristen Stewart, another proud queer woman and icon in the LGBTQ+ community. The film features the singles ‘$20’, ‘Emily I’m Sorry,’ and ‘True Blue.’ Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus each take their turn leading the video, matching their stunning vocals with beautiful cinematography.
A couple of weeks ago, the trio was a part of this year's line-up for Coachella, the iconic festival set in the Colorado Desert. Stunning the crowd with their gorgeous vocals, the trio spent their set hugging, laughing, and running up and down the stage together. Watching them join MUNA on stage for their song 'Silk Chiffon’ was, in my opinion, peak queer joy. As I cuddled up in bed to catch-up on the live stream, I found myself beaming with pride as I watched a group of queer women and non-binary people express so much love and happiness. The video of Bridgers and the lead singer of MUNA, Katie Gavin dancing intimately together has appeared on my Twitter timeline every day since the performance, with LGBTQ+ people across the globe squealing with joy and reposting it over and over.
The fact that we have three queer women topping the charts right now is incredible and so important for the LGBTQ+ community to see themselves in music. Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus never shy away from discussing societal issues such as abortion rights and the need for queer safe spaces as LGBTQ+ rights continue to be targeted. Queer voices are still being censored across the world, from the banning of drag in the US to a ban on registering the children of same-sex parents in Italy to the UK government blocking a legislation in Scotland that would make it easier for people to change their gender legally. Voices of LGBTQ+ people being out and proud are needed more than ever, and boygenius provide powerful representation in the music industry and the world.
Image via boygenius YouTube channel
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