The key to writing a boygenius song? Tell the truth.

Think about your best friends for a minute. Why do you love them? You probably love them for the people they are, because they make you laugh or they make you feel loved. But you also probably love them because they make you feel like the best version of yourself.

That’s what close friendship can do – and that’s what Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers have. They first teamed up as the trio boygenius and recorded a critically adored EP back in 2018. Since then, they’ve each seen their solo careers take off and gained legions of fans who love their personal, vulnerable songwriting.

Now, they’ve reunited as boygenius and released their debut full-length album together called the record. It came out in March, and today they join me to talk about that album and about how they bring out the best in each other as songwriters and, also, just as people.