When three of indie rock’s most compelling songwriters—Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker—joined forces as boygenius, they created something genuinely transformative in contemporary music. The 20 best songs of boygenius showcase not just three talented artists collaborating, but a complete reimagining of what harmony-driven alternative rock can achieve. From their self-titled 2018 EP through the critically acclaimed 2023 album The Record, boygenius has crafted a catalog that balances vulnerability with raw power, intimate storytelling with stadium-ready anthems.
These selections represent the full spectrum of boygenius’ artistry—tracks that have dominated streaming platforms, resonated at festivals, and become anthems for a generation navigating complex emotions through music. Whether you’re discovering them for the first time or deepening your appreciation, these songs demonstrate why boygenius isn’t just a side project, but an essential voice in modern indie music.
Not Strong Enough
The lead single from The Record became boygenius’ breakthrough mainstream moment, and for good reason. “Not Strong Enough” delivers one of the most infectious melodies the trio has produced, with its driving rhythm and soaring three-part harmonies creating an irresistible energy that translates beautifully whether you’re listening through quality headphones or experiencing it live. The production balances restraint and explosion perfectly, with the chorus opening up into a wall of sound that captures the emotional complexity of admitting vulnerability. Lyrically, the song explores the paradox of wanting to appear resilient while acknowledging internal struggles, a theme that resonates deeply with their fanbase and helped the track achieve significant chart success on alternative radio.
Emily I’m Sorry
Phoebe Bridgers takes the lead on this devastating piano ballad that showcases the group’s ability to strip everything down to pure emotion. The sparse arrangement places the vocal performance front and center, with each harmony adding layers of regret and longing that build throughout the song’s progression. What makes “Emily I’m Sorry” particularly powerful is its specific storytelling—naming names, citing real details, and creating a narrative so vivid you can picture every moment. The bridge section introduces subtle string arrangements that elevate the emotional stakes without overwhelming the intimacy, demonstrating the sophisticated production sensibility that defines The Record.
Cool About It
This track captures the quintessential boygenius sound: conversational lyrics delivered over deceptively simple instrumentation that gradually builds into something much more powerful. “Cool About It” explores the performance we put on after relationships end, pretending indifference while everything inside churns with unresolved feelings. The vocal interplay between all three members shines here, with each verse offering a different perspective on the same emotional landscape. The guitar work features that jangly, slightly melancholic tone that’s become a signature element of their production style, and the way the harmonies lock together in the chorus creates a sense of collective experience that makes the song feel both deeply personal and universally relatable.
We’re In Love
One of the more straightforward love songs in the boygenius catalog, “We’re In Love” radiates joy and affirmation in a way that feels earned rather than saccharine. The track features some of the album’s most dynamic production, with percussion that drives forward relentlessly and guitar tones that shimmer with optimism. Lucy Dacus’s vocal delivery here is particularly compelling, balancing tenderness with conviction as the lyrics celebrate queer love without apology or explanation. The bridge section introduces unexpected harmonic complexity that showcases the group’s musical sophistication, while the final chorus feels like a communal celebration—exactly the kind of moment that translates into unforgettable live concert experiences.
True Blue
“True Blue” opens with one of the most striking guitar lines on The Record, immediately establishing a mood of contemplation and emotional weight. The song explores themes of loyalty and self-examination through Julien Baker’s distinctive lyrical lens, where religious imagery intersects with deeply personal confession. The production allows space for each instrumental element to breathe, creating a sparse but purposeful soundscape that supports rather than competes with the vocal narrative. When the full band enters, it does so with careful intention, building momentum that mirrors the emotional arc of the lyrics without ever feeling overdone.
$20
This infectiously catchy track might be the most immediately accessible song on The Record, with its memorable hook and driving rhythm section creating an energy that’s impossible to resist. “$20” deals with economic anxiety and the small humiliations of financial struggle, but packages these themes in a melody so bright it almost disguises the underlying frustration. The guitar interplay between all three members creates a rich texture that rewards repeated listening, especially when you’re catching the subtle variations in the arrangement. The vocal harmonies in the chorus are absolutely pristine, demonstrating the technical precision these three artists bring to collaborative work.
Me & My Dog
From the original 2018 EP, “Me & My Dog” established boygenius as something special from the very beginning. The song features a raw, stripped-down production that feels almost improvisational, capturing the intimacy of three friends making music together in a room. Julien Baker’s vocal performance here is particularly vulnerable, and the way Phoebe and Lucy’s voices weave around hers creates moments of stunning beauty. The guitar work maintains a fingerpicked delicacy that contrasts beautifully with the emotional intensity of the lyrics, which explore isolation and the unconditional love that pets provide when human relationships fail.
Bite The Hand
“Bite The Hand” showcases the heavier side of boygenius’ musical palette, with distorted guitars and a more aggressive rhythmic approach than much of their catalog. The song tackles themes of institutional critique and personal rebellion, with lyrics that challenge authority and conventional expectations. Lucy Dacus brings a fierce energy to the lead vocal that’s absolutely captivating, and the production allows the track to build to a genuinely cathartic climax. The bridge section features some of the most complex vocal arrangements on the 2018 EP, with all three voices creating countermelodies that interlock in fascinating ways.
Salt In The Wound
This deep cut from the original EP deserves far more attention than it typically receives, featuring some of the most emotionally raw songwriting in the boygenius catalog. “Salt In The Wound” explores the ways we revisit and aggravate our own pain, unable to let old hurts heal. The instrumentation is beautifully restrained, with acoustic guitars and subtle percussion creating space for the vocal performance to carry the emotional weight. The harmonies here are particularly devastating, especially in the chorus where all three voices blend in a way that feels both comforting and heartbreaking.
Ketchum, ID
Named after the Idaho town where the group recorded part of their debut EP, “Ketchum, ID” captures a specific moment in time and place with remarkable precision. The song features Phoebe Bridgers’ distinctive lyrical style—hyper-specific details that somehow convey universal emotions. The production is warm and intimate, with the acoustic instrumentation creating an atmosphere that feels like sitting around a campfire sharing stories. The vocal performance is conversational and confessional, inviting listeners into a private moment while maintaining the artistic distance that makes great songwriting work.
Souvenir
“Souvenir” explores memory and nostalgia through a lens of bittersweet reflection, with lyrics that examine what we choose to keep from past experiences. The musical arrangement features some of the EP’s most sophisticated guitar work, with interlocking parts that create a rich harmonic foundation. Lucy Dacus takes the lead here, delivering a performance that balances melancholy with a kind of grateful acceptance. The way the harmonies enter and exit throughout the song creates dynamic shifts that keep the arrangement engaging, while the overall production maintains an organic, live-feeling quality.
Stay Down
Perhaps the most musically complex track on the 2018 EP, “Stay Down” features shifting time signatures and unexpected structural choices that reward careful listening. The song deals with resilience and the question of whether it’s strength or stubbornness to keep getting back up after being knocked down. Julien Baker’s vocal performance navigates these musical complexities with apparent ease, and the guitar arrangements showcase the technical proficiency all three members bring to the project. The production captures a live energy that makes you feel like you’re in the room as the song unfolds.
Letter To An Old Poet
One of The Record‘s most contemplative moments, “Letter To An Old Poet” reads like actual correspondence set to music—personal, detailed, and deeply felt. The song explores artistic influence and the complicated feelings that come with outgrowing your heroes or realizing they’re just humans with flaws. The instrumentation is gorgeously layered, with piano providing the harmonic foundation while guitars add textural color. The vocal arrangement features some of the album’s most interesting choices, with harmonies that sometimes support and sometimes deliberately clash, creating tension that mirrors the lyrical content.
Revolution 0
“Revolution 0” opens with a stark, almost unsettling guitar line that immediately establishes it as one of the darker tracks on The Record. The song grapples with disillusionment and the gap between idealistic visions of change and the messy reality of actually living through uncertain times. Lyrically, it’s dense with imagery and allusion, requiring multiple listens to fully unpack. The production allows moments of genuine heaviness, with the full band arrangements creating walls of sound that feel almost overwhelming before pulling back to more intimate passages.
Satanist
Don’t let the provocative title fool you—”Satanist” is actually one of the more tender tracks on The Record, using religious imagery to explore themes of otherness and finding community in unexpected places. The melody is absolutely beautiful, with a gentle, swaying rhythm that creates an almost hymn-like quality. The vocal harmonies are exquisite throughout, demonstrating the technical precision these three artists have developed through their collaborative work. The guitar work features fingerpicked patterns that add delicate ornamentation without cluttering the arrangement, and the overall production maintains a warmth that makes the song feel like a comforting embrace.
Anti-Curse
“Anti-Curse” tackles anxiety and the various superstitions we develop to try to control an uncontrollable world. The track features some of The Record‘s most interesting production choices, with electronic elements subtly integrated into the otherwise organic instrumentation. The vocal performance balances vulnerability with a kind of dark humor, acknowledging the absurdity of our coping mechanisms while treating the underlying emotions seriously. The bridge section introduces unexpected harmonic movement that lifts the song into new emotional territory, and the way it resolves back into the final chorus feels both surprising and inevitable.
Without You Without Them
This is boygenius at their most collaborative and democratic, with all three voices sharing lead duties throughout the track. “Without You Without Them” explores interdependence and the ways our identities are shaped by relationships and community. The musical arrangement mirrors this theme, with each instrument and voice supporting the others in a way that makes it impossible to imagine the song without any single element. The production is clean and spacious, allowing every detail to shine through clearly—particularly rewarding when listening through high-quality earbuds that can reproduce the full frequency range.
Voyager
“Voyager” closes the main portion of The Record with an expansive, almost cosmic feeling that lives up to its title. The song builds gradually from a gentle beginning to a powerful crescendo, with the full band arrangement creating a sense of journey and movement. Lyrically, it deals with searching and uncertainty, but frames these experiences as adventures rather than anxieties. The final chorus features some of the album’s most impressive vocal work, with all three members pushing their ranges and creating harmonies that soar.
Afraid of Heights
One of the bonus tracks from The Record, “Afraid of Heights” uses its central metaphor to explore fear of vulnerability and emotional exposure. The song features a more straightforward rock arrangement than some of the album’s more experimental moments, with electric guitars driving the energy forward. The vocal performance balances aggression with tenderness, and the production allows the song to get genuinely loud in its climactic moments. The bridge features a particularly effective dynamic shift that showcases the group’s understanding of tension and release.
Leonard Cohen
Named after the legendary singer-songwriter, this track pays homage while establishing boygenius‘ own artistic identity. The song references Cohen’s work and legacy while using his music as a starting point for exploring their own relationships with artistry and influence. The musical arrangement nods to Cohen’s style in subtle ways—the fingerpicked guitar patterns, the literary lyrical approach—while remaining distinctly boygenius in execution. The harmonies here are particularly lovely, creating a reverent atmosphere that honors the namesake without feeling derivative.
The Parting Glass
Closing out this collection is the traditional Irish folk song that boygenius made their own, released as a standalone single. “The Parting Glass” features the most stripped-down arrangement in their catalog—just voices and minimal accompaniment—allowing the beauty of the melody and the power of three-part harmony to take center stage. The performance is absolutely stunning, demonstrating that these three artists don’t need elaborate production or original songwriting to create something moving. Their interpretation brings new emotional depth to this classic, making it feel both timeless and completely current.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular boygenius song?
“Not Strong Enough” is boygenius’ most commercially successful track, achieving significant streaming numbers and radio play following its release as the lead single from The Record in 2023. The song reached the top of alternative charts and introduced the supergroup to a wider mainstream audience, though longtime fans also cherish earlier deep cuts from the 2018 EP.
Are all boygenius songs written by all three members?
While songwriting credits vary, boygenius typically operates as a true collaborative unit, with all three members contributing to arrangements and vocal harmonies even when one member takes the lead on a particular song. Some tracks feature more prominent contributions from individual members, but the collective approach to production and performance defines the boygenius sound.
What album should I start with for boygenius?
New listeners should begin with the 2023 album The Record, which represents the group’s most fully realized artistic statement and features their most accessible material. After exploring that, the 2018 self-titled EP provides essential context and showcases the raw chemistry that made boygenius special from the beginning.
How does boygenius differ from the members’ solo work?
While Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker each bring their distinctive songwriting voices to boygenius, the collaborative setting encourages different creative risks and allows for harmonic possibilities impossible in solo work. The group dynamic creates a unique sound that’s both familiar to fans of the individual artists and distinctly its own entity.
Will boygenius release more music together?
As of 2025, boygenius has not announced specific plans for future releases, though all three members have expressed love for the collaborative project. Given their individual career commitments and touring schedules, new boygenius material will likely emerge when all three artists have the time and creative energy to fully commit to the supergroup format.