It’s been nearly five years since Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers formed indie supergroup boygenius and released their debut EP to rave reviews. In between, there has been a pandemic and new solo albums to promote, leaving many fans unsure if the three rising stars of indie would ever make music together again. Then at the turn of the year, they surprised fans with three new tracks, news of an album and the announcement of live shows.

The Record is the debut album that fans have been waiting for and sees the trio take turns to lead individual verses or entire songs, bringing their wide ranges of influences and unique voices to the group from Iron & Wine to Now Now and Leonard Cohen that meld together so seamlessly. The latter has a song named after him led by Dacus on an acoustic guitar singing about existential crises and his ability to write horny poetry.

Each artist has a chance to shine alone and together as a unit throughout the album, which is perhaps most evident on “Not Strong Enough”, which feature unified, yet contrasting vocal harmonies from all three artists, powered by a pulsating drum beat and crescending horns that drive the track forward to a sudden close.

Baker brings the heavier tracks on the album with standout tracks “Satanist” and “$20”, the former was inspired by the documentary “Hail Satan?” and had her pondering whether she could be a satanist.

Dacus brings an emotional and delicate beauty to the album on “We’re In Love” and singing about the comfort of being with a loved one on “True Blue”. And, Bridgers brings her unique blend of layered vocals and instrumentals to album highlight “Revolution 0”, and “Letter To An Old Poet”.

It is the individual contributions that work so well together, which make this album so worthwhile. Bridgers brings graceful melodies, Dacus a delicate mix of vulnerability and humor, and Baker delivers beautiful chaos to create what will be one of the best albums of 2023.

Pre-order the record by Boy Genius HERE