DStv Channel 403 Thursday, 07 November 2024

boygenius: the supergroup whose synergy reinvigorated rock

LOS ANGELES - Cream, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Audioslave, The Highwaymen -- the music industry is full of storied supergroups comprised, mostly, of men.

But it's 2024, and boygenius has entered the chat.

The indie rockers are up for six Grammys at Sunday's ceremony in Los Angeles, and member Phoebe Bridgers has a seventh nod for her collaboration with top nominee SZA. 

Like many a supergroup before them, boygenius recently announced they're going on hiatus and returning to solo work -- but that's after an exceptional year on the road together.

And on Sunday, they'll get to celebrate.

Boygenius members Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus met as up-and-comers in the indie music scene and, tired of constant comparisons to each other as "women in rock," decided to join forces while continuing to produce solo work.

The creative venture turned into a winning bet: the trio amassed a loyal fan base with their 2018 eponymous EP, a debut -- hits included the arresting "Salt In The Wound" and the wrenching slow burn "Me & My Dog" -- that fused their distinct songwriting and styles to create, in a word, magic. 

Calling the work "astonishing," music outlet NME gave the extended play a perfect critical score, writing it "serves as a reminder of each musician's particular powers -- Bridgers' ability to spin haunting, poetic folk-pop out of beautiful simplicity; Dacus' sage and, often, wry indie-rock; and Baker's dramatic, emo-tinged exorcisms of emotion."

Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker of boygenius have declared a hiatus for the supergroup -- but Grammys night will celebrate their success
AFP/File | Michael Tran

The artists played a handful of tour dates before peeling off to focus on solo albums.

They each found individual success, in particular the 29-year-old Bridgers, who found growing mainstream fame with the 2020 album "Punisher," which featured the hit single "Kyoto," and a smash tour.

But fans and music journalists weren't having it: wanting more of the group's transcendent harmonies, they asked constantly for a reunion and a full studio album.

The band eventually got back together and gave in to the hype, announcing "the record" would be released in March 2023.

It was an instant hit and propelled boygenius on an in-demand tour that featured multiple festival appearances including at Coachella, which marked their first performances since the album's release.

The group also appeared on the Eras Tour of none other than Taylor Swift, who called boygenius' album "genuinely a masterpiece."

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