everybody’s moved on but…
Written by Daphne Bryant
Image courtesy of Alternative Press
God I miss boygenius. I don’t even know what it is about them that I miss so much, but I guess I’m writing this article to figure it out.See, I was never an indie folk/rock girl: I’ve always preferred R&B, pop, hip hop, etc., It’s just more fun! Or so I thought.
But then I went to my first boygenius concert in the summer of 2023(for free btw! #sorry4flexing), and it changed my life. These fools: Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and my wife, Julien Baker, have made me sob, smile, and sing at the top of my lungs, amongst other things.And I’m not the only one moved by their music. This supergroup of American singer-songwriters , which debuted in 2018, blossomed in popularity, took the world by storm, and managed to rack up three huge awards at the 2024 Grammy’s. They’re just unstoppable, and yet, they are stoppable, because they are currently on hiatus and I haven’t heard anyone talk about them in months.
Am I crazy for missing them? It’s not like I’m a die-hard fan. I know a few songs by heart, but those are just the classic ones, like“ Cool About It” and“ Not Strong Enough.” I don’t keep up with their personal lives or stream their music religiously, but boygenius is there when I need that alternative wind down or wind up. I guess, in a world where queer pop is becoming so much more mainstream (s/o Chappell Roan, Troye Sivan, etc.,), I’m yearning for something different again. Don’t get me wrong; I’m grateful for the pop visibility, and I know variety already exists. I know we have R&B icons like Kehlani and incredible guitarists like Towa Bird and slightly more underground angels such as Arlo Parks and Hope Tala. But none of them have the same influence as motherfucking BOYGENIUS. I mean, that name carries weight like no other, and I wish it still did.
Something I really liked about boygenius was that all of the artists that came together to make the group were, in some way, queer.All of them. boygenius is like...a gay indie rock boy band, but...they’re girls (lol). That was, and is, so cool to me. Would I have even gotten the idea to do a photoshoot featuring a masc boy band if there wasn’t representation like boygenius? I highly doubt it.
boygenius probably isn’t the first group to do what they did and so well, but I’d argue that there’s no one quite like them out right now (sorry MUNA and The Aces fans, but you know I’m right). I miss their contemporary sadness. I miss their clever lyricism and petty jokes. I miss their unhinged, wildly gay concerts and how it felt to watch them smile and what it felt like watching them cry. I miss their rawness.
So what do we do about the withdrawals? Nothing, I guess. Wait until they drop another EP or album. Say Emily, I’m sorry, perhaps. Or maybe I’ll cuddle up with my (imaginary) dog, imaginary because I don’t and have never had pets.
