Hailed by Rolling Stone Magazine as “the world’s most exciting supergroup”, boygenius are dealing with a tall order. Overassessments like that can make or break a trio of accomplished artists hoping to chart their first album release. The Record, the EP, not the album of the same name, is boygenius’ first tease of album material. Their self-titled EP from a few years ago a distant memory now that each of the three, Phoebe Bridgers in particular, has exploded in popularity. Despite the pressure that no doubt comes from mocking up a Nirvana front cover, $20, one of three tracks from this EP teaser, is as fun, loud and liberating as boygenius would like it to be.
Taking to that choked mid-2000s guitar style, boygenius elevate a strong track to the next level with that crash of quality wordplay and instrumental presence. Harmony between a trio of pals is just as important, as exquisite, for the supergroup as the brief screams and flutters of vocal change that $20 offers. Each member of the supergroup has that unique quality they bring to the table, and hearing three very distinct, very stylish and popular presences on this track is a treat. It is well-worked, overlapping and disguising the bridges and hooks as natural flows, yet each effort can be marked for who has presented it. Those essential styles that have won over audiences and listeners time and time again are compressed and stuck together with the quality intact.
$20 is likely the strongest track from boygenius so far. For its lyrical presence, the “hills to die on” line feels extremely contemporaneous and more relevant now than ever. Take a dive into music discourse anywhere and look at the hills people choose to die on. boygenius’ latest effort, one of three to head up their The Album release, slaps a smile on the face that is hard to shake off. Quality guitar work, with this Bridgers-led track a definite continuation of her solo qualities. But the Punisher legend benefits well from the collaboration and energy Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus bring to this. It is different enough from each of their solo works, but still inherently similar to that and the style they have moulded as individuals. It is a handy tool that each of those styles complements the other with great effect.
For $20, that means an indie-rock-focused piece that brings the lonely cries toward the end of the track to the front. Bold and necessary explosions, a sudden end, $20 is a gift of a track that starts and ends out of the blue. Perhaps boygenius are the “most exciting supergroup” after all. Maybe Jann Wenner’s paper was right all along. What is right, in this instance, is boygenius’ gifted lyricisms and the qualities that can come from the right pairing of supergroup individuals. A relatively similar style is needed for the best of supergroups to work (the contemporary efforts of The Waeve and the classic powers of The Traveling Wilburys are two of many), and boygenius has just that. $20 is an inevitably overhyped piece of the puzzle, but that piece is a quality track no matter how overplayed it will become.
