How Boygenius Made Supergroups Cool Again

Supergroups have a terrible track record. They generate massive hype, release one album of compromised material where nobody's fully committed, and dissolve into awkward silence. Boygenius broke that pattern completely. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus created something that elevated all three artists rather than diluting any of them.

The origins were organic. The three were already fans of each other's solo work and touring in overlapping circles. Their 2018 self-titled EP was recorded quickly with minimal overthinking, capturing the raw chemistry between three songwriters who genuinely admire each other's craft. It felt like a conversation between friends.

The Record, their 2023 debut full-length, cemented boygenius as more than a side project. Songs like Not Strong Enough, Cool About It, and True Blue showcased three distinct voices that harmonize both literally and thematically. Baker's intensity, Bridgers' melancholy wit, and Dacus's narrative clarity create a sound none could achieve alone.

The record backs the friendship story up. It was cut at Shangri-La in Malibu with Catherine Marks producing and released on 31 March 2023 through Interscope, a proper label album rather than something squeezed between tours. Cool About It rides a fingerpicked figure straight out of the Simon and Garfunkel songbook and hands a verse to each of them in turn, which is the entire thesis compressed into three minutes.

Their live shows became events. The 2023 tour featured the trio switching instruments, playfully ribbing each other between songs, and delivering vocal harmonies with the precision of artists who've listened to each other's catalogs hundreds of times. The friendship is the performance, and audiences respond to its authenticity.

The Grammys validated what fans already knew. Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Song nominations brought mainstream attention, but more importantly, the group's success created a blueprint for collaboration between artists at similar career stages, sharing credit equally and checking egos at the door.

The four-track EP the rest had arrived in October 2023, small and unheralded, which is the tell that nobody was trying to stretch the moment past what they had.

Whether boygenius releases another album or not, their impact is already significant. They demonstrated that the supergroup format works when driven by genuine friendship rather than label engineering. The bar they set is one that future collaborative projects will be measured against.

For contrast, look at what usually happens to these bands. Them Crooked Vultures put out one album in 2009 and nothing since. SuperHeavy managed one in 2011 and evaporated. The difference is not talent; those groups were assembled around diary availability, while Baker, Bridgers and Dacus had been touring the same circuit and covering each other's songs for years before a record was ever proposed.

With the trio on pause since 2024, the solo catalogues are where to go. Start with Bridgers' Punisher, Dacus's Home Video and Baker's Little Oblivions, all released across 2020 and 2021. Then take Baker's 2025 country album with TORRES, Send a Prayer My Way, and Dacus's Forever Is a Feeling from the same year, which are the two most interesting things any of them have made apart.

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