“Not Strong Enough” by boygenius, Friday, May 31, 2024
In 2016, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus opened for singer-songwriter Julien Baker on separate dates. It turned out that the three queer-identifying indie-folk songwriters mutually appreciated each other's music. In 2018, the three musicians decided to have a co-headlining tour. To celebrate the tour, they decided to join forces and record a six-song EP titled boygenius. Tired of the misogyny in the music industry that compared women to women while pinning female artists against female artists, Dacus stated: “I hope people see the three of us and know there isn't competition. You don't have to compete with your contemporaries. You can make something good with people you admire.” And in that statement lies the genius on which the collaborative supergroup is founded.
BLACK HOLE OPENED IN MY KITCHEN. The debut self-titled EP by boygenius was made almost entirely by female musicians. The band’s name is ironic. Julien Baker told Newsweek that the name refers “to the archetype of the tortured genius, [a] specifically male artist who has been told since birth that their every thought is not only worthwhile but brilliant.” After the tour and the EP, boygenius went on hiatus as the three artists went on to record their solo projects, though each member of the trio appeared as backing vocals on the solo records recorded after the eponymous boygenius EP. Working with Hayley Williams on her Petals for Armor II in 2020 and on each others’ projects lead to a renewed interest in their collaborative work. That year, the group started selling demos on Bandcamp for various charities. As the trio dug into their shared Google Drive, inspiration for 2023’s The Record hit Bridgers, Dacus, and Baker.
ALWAYS AN ANGEL, NEVER A GOD. Phoebe Bridgers is arguably the most commercially successful artist of boygenius, but each member brings a unique characteristic to the collective. Bridgers brings her large fan base and often honest and often dark songwriting. Unlike Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, Bridgers had a secular California upbringing. Baker and Dacus grew up in the religious South, and they reflect on themes of faith, doubt, and sexuality in their music. Dacus’s writing is witty and sometimes raw. She examines when faith becomes traumatic, though rarely becoming caustic. Baker’s lyrics deal with similar material as Dacus with a gloomier take on the subject. Baker’s early influences include Underoath and mewithoutYou and other groups from the Christian screamo era. Baker brings a hard rock element into boygenius. Today’s song, “Not Strong Enough,” is the biggest song of the band or any of its members. Musically and lyrically it’s a great representation of boygenius at their best. Bridgers and Baker take the two verses, while Dacus adds the bridge. The Grammy-winning, Adult Alternative #1 song examines feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and the compulsion to control one’s life. The smooth heartland rock sound of the track is simple on first listen, but guitar and synth textures come alive with repeated listens. And repeated listening is what you need if you enter the boygenius universe as the lyrical crafting and the vocal harmonies give listeners a deeper understanding of the artists’ message.
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