Boygenius

The supergroup trio of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus playing great, plainspoken songs about sadness, failure, and anxiety. Big-scale indie rock at its best. Majestic stadium sound and anthems to match, with marvelous harmonies. Aside from the members’ solo music, also RIYL Big Thief, Pianos Become the Teeth, Magnolia Electric Co, First Aid Kit, the Dolly Parton/Emmylou Harris/Linda Ronstadt Trio. Favorites: 3, 5, 6. No FCCs.

1. (3:12)—Furtive 90s alt-rock feel. Nice desert guitar leads. Lucy Dacus leads.
2. (3:27)—Slow shoegaze beginning switches to modern rock choruses, noisy finish. Phoebe Bridgers leads.
3. *(3:33)—Mid-tempo melancholy acoustic guitar road song. Julien Baker leads.
4. (4:01)—Slow, reverberant. Julien Baker leads. Fakeout build, then a real build. Big anthem rock finish. “I look at you and you look at a screen / I’m in the backseat of my body.”
5. *(4:12)—Dramatic piano and distorted guitar to begin. Slow, intense and sad Magnolia Electric Co-style heartland rock crashes in. Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker lead.
6. *(3:36)—Simple acoustic guitar and voice, lots of reverb. All three singers rotate verses. The chorus is a serious earworm.