Boygenius, an “independent” supergroup for sorority era

The February issue of ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine announced on its cover that the band would be leaving soon. boygenius first lp It recreates an iconic cover starring Nirvana from 1994. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus In a suit and tie, as Dave Grohl did with Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic that day, he was accompanied by one of the headlines that raised the bar so high that it eventually became more of a balancing act than promotion: “young intelligence. The super band we need”.

There is no doubt that this boygenius is a supergroup in the classical sense that coined the term in the 1970s. Bridgers, Baker, and Dacus separately the most outstanding singer-songwriters the stage has given independent source in last decade. Whether it’s a necessary project is already more debatable (which band today?), but that shouldn’t overshadow the credit their first feature collaboration deserved after debuting with an EP that was much more modest in intent and results five years ago. . Because ‘Record’ is an amazing album.

sharing

Since he started with ‘Without them without you’, he has performed an a cappella ode to such a beautiful friendship. twinning of three voices seems to proclaim that this is really a pooling and not a juxtaposition of three well-defined artistic personalities. Interestingly, the three subsequent songs – ‘$20’, ‘Emily I Sorry’ and ‘True blue’ – partially contradict this impression because they are the characteristic styles of each of its authors (Baker’s ’90s guitar, Bridgers’ sad and autobiographical ballad, and Dacus’ immediate pop-folk, respectively) and the other two’s special contributions.

However, with its arrival, this is where things get more interesting (and more collective). “Great at it”An acoustic delight that updates Simon & Garfunkel’s assumptions and ‘Not strong enough‘ is a catchy country-powerpop example that, despite its title (“Not Loud Enough”), is definitely the most rewarding.

The chemistry is preserved in songs like the guitarist “Satanist” (an old 1993 record can be passed to save), the touching ballad “We’re in Love” and the intriguing “Leonard Cohen”. Turned out to be the venerable Canadian singer-songwriter who died in 2016 a touching reflection on problematic masculinities: “I’m not an old man writing steamy poems in a Buddhist monastery / having an existential crisis.”

No, male genius is not a hobby. This is a real group. And the good ones. Rafael Tapounet

Other albums of the week

cinema in 1959 ‘The scream of jazz’ asked uncomfortable and urgent questions about Racism and identity in the USA. Chicago Artist Angel Bat David -clarinettist, producer, thinker and thousands more – continues with a recording as poignant as the movie that inspires conversation. Constructed as a suite of part concert, part studio experiment, where sounds, strings, and electronics converge, his elegy a lament that gradually turns into a cry of hope. A big shake. Jazz? This is the least. Roger Rock

You don’t need it, you shouldn’t look for it, but Yung Beef reminds us that in everything he does, his talent has not faded or diminished over the years. He changes paths often, but stays straight, and ‘Ganster Paradise’, a six-song EP, is one of the works that proves he’s still a street hero, a protagonist in gangster paradise. Six songs for the trap’s powerful beat, with a few neatly placed “samples”, one of which serves as a nod to Lana del Rey, is striking and consistent. Ignasi Fortuny