Boygenius share 82 songs that inspired ‘The Record’
For many young girls with guitars, Boygenius have become the blueprint. Between Phoebe Bridgers’ moonlit melancholy, Lucy Dacus’ powerful ballads, and Julien Baker’s angsty, ethereal soundscapes, the three of them have cultivated a new generation of female-led indie both through their solo projects and their collaborative endeavours.
Earlier this year, they delivered their debut full-length project together with the aptly titled, albeit SEO-averse, The Record. The long-awaited album awarded the trio acclaim on an entirely new scale, earning each of them their first number one record. Triumphing in its collaboration but still infused with each member’s artistic individuality, The Record became a staple in the collections of indie fans worldwide.
Baker, Bridgers and Dacus set a new blueprint for modern indie, but who was it that provided the blueprint for Boygenius to thrive? The three singer-songwriters have collated 82 songs that inspired The Record in some way on the Boygenius: Blueprint playlist on Spotify. It’s a varied list, one which spans from modern indie folk to 1980s new wave pop, reflecting their wide-spanning influences.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Adrianne Lenker’s Big Thief makes three appearances on the playlist – for ‘Breathe in My Lungs’, ‘Two Hands’, and ‘Not’ specifically. Existing within the same sphere and carving their own form of vulnerable, indie folk, it’s no surprise that Boygenius find inspiration from their peers. Dacus once even suggested that Big Thief were the best band currently living.
The playlist shouts out a number of Boygenius’ other indie peers, including HAIM, Katy Kirby, Mitski, Miya Folick and Marika Hackman. Broken Social Scene are also allotted a fair amount of space on the playlist. With four songs gaining a mention – ‘7/4 (Shoreline)’, ‘It’s All Gonna Break’, ‘All to All’, and ‘Art House Director’ – they feature more than any other artist.
The playlist also features ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’ by the late Sinéad O’Connor, a track Bridgers once dubbed “a motherfucker of a song” in an interview with GQ. “I could stare at the ceiling and listen to this song all day,” she added. A criticism of English police over folky guitars, ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’ featured on O’Connor’s second studio album, I Do Not Get What I Haven’t Got, in 1990. O’Connor’s cover of Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies’ also gets an inclusion.
Other notable picks include Fugazi’s devastatingly melancholic ‘I’m So Tired’, Brian Eno’s ‘Needles In The Camel’s Eye’, and Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Money Changes Everything’. It’s an expansive playlist, a collage of the wide-spanning influence that, blended together, have forged their unique indie sound.
Check out the full playlist below.
