Few bands have the precise emotional range required to soundtrack English footballing commiserations, but then again, Boygenius’ supergroup line-up is the ultimate, all-star squad. If anybody’s capable, surely it’s the triple-threat of solo singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus – who played their first ever UK show at Gunnersbury Park on Sunday.
Before headlining the west London park, Boygenius curated a kind of day-festival to cheer up the masses wearing cowboy boots, double denim, and the occasional, slightly sad-looking England shirt. After the Irish indie-folk singer Soak kicked things off, Florida-born artist Ethel Cain followed in a stars-and-stripes shirt with a spell-binding set heavy on Gothic-styled tracks from last year’s standout record Preacher’s Daughter.
Later, the LA trio MUNA – fresh from supporting Taylor Swift on the US leg of her Eras tour – bought plenty of energy and smirking power-pop bangers to match. Their set culminated in a surprise guest appearance from Bridgers for their collaboration Silk Chiffon, with bonus Dacus and Baker gleefully helping out with backing vocals.
Later, Boygenius began their own gig backstage, singing Without You Without Them to the big screen camera– the old-timey acapella to togetherness that opens their first album The Record – before skipping into view. From steaming straight into sharp-toothed indie rock song $20 onwards, they wasted little time in giving their debut its first UK outing.
On the twanging Cool About It, Baker was crystal-clear as she picked at the jagged edges of a fraying relationship; as Dacus and Bridgers’ voices gradually joined in and bolstered hers, three black and white close up videos sang in union on the big-screens like haunted Victorian locket photos. Every song from the group’s self-titled EP also made the setlist, alongside unreleased demo Boyfriend, and a solo track for each member (Dacus’ beautifully desperate plea, Please Stay, was a highlight).
Incredibly sincere and playful at the same time, Boygenius’ patter ranged from a truly terrible Cockney accent, to an emotional Baker’s vow to “vociferously grab onto life”. Bridgers asked fans not to film The Record’s deeply personal closer Letter To An Old Poet so she could look right into their eyes as she sang. Though the band had to stop abruptly several times to call for medics to assist punters who were struggling after a blazing hot afternoon, they handled each pause calmly.
For the encore, Boygenius took things right back to where it all began, with two cuts from their debut EP. After the gently picked and country-tinged ballad Ketchum ID, the show closed with their earliest hit Salt in the Wound, and as red fireworks erupted above the stage, MUNA rushed back onstage to instigate a mass snogging session. A brilliantly silly ending to a flawless day of music.
