Hailed by some as the Crosby, Stills & Nash of the millennial-and-Gen Z era, boygenius — the trio of expert singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker — has offered up another preview of their forthcoming debut LP. The group first made waves in 2018 with a self-titled EP and a joint North American tour, which kicked off in Nashville at the Ryman. The new album is called the record and is set for release on March 31. A new track titled “Not Strong Enough” is the fourth single from the album and the first to get a music video, which was surprise-dropped on March 1.
The song is an inspired answer to Sheryl Crow’s “Strong Enough,” a hit single from her 1993 debut Tuesday Night Music Club. “Not Strong Enough” is a classic boygenius offering, somehow even greater than the sum of the three artists’ contributions. The Sheryl Crow inspiration comes through in the instrumentation as much as the title, but the lyrics reflect each of the three songsmiths’ signature styles. Baker muses on a car crash, Bridgers gets mesmerizingly existential with a reflection on how draining contemporary life can be, while and Dacus’ gentle delivery of the stinging refrain “Always an angel, never a god” is a reminder of why she is one of the best songwriters working today.
The music video for the track was shot by the trio on a full day of hanging out. They play arcade games, ride a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster, visit a museum and wrap up with a seaside bonfire. It’s as fun as it is endearing, and it underlines why boygenius’ members work so well together. From the joy on their faces, it’s clear that the music — vital as it is — is not the most important part of boygenius.
In their Rolling Stone cover story, the group teased a trio of upcoming music videos directed by Kristen Stewart to look forward to. The group will headline a day of the upcoming Re:SET concert tour, which includes a stop at Centennial Park June 23 through 25. You can preorder the record via boygenius’ Bandcamp page or your favorite record store. Keep up with them via Instagram for more.
