Queer Duo Boyish Talk Transition From Attending Berklee to Indie-Pop Stardom
(L to R) Guitarist Claire Altendahl and vocalist India Shore make up indie-pop duo Boyish
All images courtesy of Anna Koblish // @annakoblish
In spite of forgetting to prepare a cup of coffee before a Zoom interview with the members of Boyish - guitarist Claire Altendahl and vocalist India Shore - the duo’s vibrant energy was more than enough to keep me awake in the early hours. Despite experiencing connection issues, the pair remained patient and lively while discussing their experiences in Boston, what it’s like being an openly queer duo, their latest single and other future plans.
The two met during their freshman year at Berklee School of Music when Shore needed a guitarist for a songwriter’s showcase. Unfortunately, they were denied the part, but the judges still saw potential and advised them to keep working together. Luckily, Shore and Altendahl bonded over their shared love for folk duo The Civil Wars, and created The Blue, which became Boyish in 2019. Since then, they have moved to New York City and are one of the fastest-growing indie acts, receiving 4.4 million Spotify streams in 2021.
The name change was inspired after the duo realized their previous alt-country sound no longer suited them post-graduation. “I showed Claire Phoebe Bridgers and I started listening to Beabadoobee and all these amazing indie women, and I was like, ‘Fuck, that’s what I want to make,’” Shore says.
Before eventually agreeing to form a duo, the pair admitted to having a delayed start to their friendship because they were intimidated by each other. “Specifically, I was like, ‘India’s from New York City, I’m from the Midwest,’” Altendahl says. “I always thought that kids that grew up in New York were edgy—you know, Gossip Girl and wild stuff.” Shore immediately interjected saying, “Not Gossip Girl!”
Boyish started off performing at local house shows in the Boston area. Shore says the shows’ rowdy environments were key to their growth, as they helped them figure out how to grab an audience’s attention. Despite now playing at bigger venues, the two admitted to being the most nervous for house shows because they felt the need to prove themselves at Berklee. “I think everyone was there to have a good time,” Shore says. “But in my mind, I was like, ‘Oh, these are all the people I see in class,’ so you don’t want to embarrass yourself.”
While still at Berklee, the duo discussed their hilarious but stressful interaction with Emerson College’s news show, Good Morning Emerson, when their lost Uber driver resulted in their fashionably late performance. “You’re supposed to get there, like, hours early for live TV, and I rolled up right as it was going on,” Shore laughs.
Fast forward to 2022, when Boyish is known for being incredibly open about their queerness in their music. They both say it is an honor to represent the queer community. “It means everything to be able to know that our music could help someone through a breakup or help someone just feel less alone,” Altendahl says. “Growing up, literally my only lesbian representation in music and media was Ellen and, like, Tegan and Sara.”
Boyish’s latest single, “Congratulations,” was released on Feb. 25 and further touches on queer experiences. The dreamy, 2000s-inspired indie track is a personal story to Altendahl that discusses their “bad history of dating [their] friends in the past” and the fragile moment between remaining friends or taking the relationship to the next step. The song is unlike anything the duo has created before, as it is filled with a hazy drum loop that was inspired by Beabadoobee’s EP, Our Extended Play, and works by The 1975.
Shore says she contributed to the song’s writing by basing it off of Rue and Jules’s relationship in the HBO series Euphoria. “I feel like [Rue and Jules] fall into this category too, especially in season one, that time period before they’re together where they clearly love each other so much.” She laughs. “I don’t speak about season two, though. Obviously, it’s toxic, but that’s a great example of what [Claire] was talking about.”
The single is accompanied by a music video, which was shot in Brooklyn and consists of split-screen scenes of the duo “performing” the track. The pair jokes that the public filming process was embarrassing since there were multiple people watching. “It was so funny to be like ‘Oh my God, I’m that person, that New Yorker, that’s making a music video,” Altendahl says. “So I was like, ‘No, don’t look at me!’”
Boyish also has an upcoming EP, My Friend Mica, coming on May 6. They say they plan to keep similar elements as their previous EP We’re all gonna die, but here’s my contribution, but will incorporate newer components such as “hyper-pop, but not hyper-pop”-inspired drum grooves and even more vulnerable lyrics.
In the upcoming months, Boyish is set to tour with Remo Drive and will perform at the Capitol Hill Block Party festival in Seattle, which Altendahl says they are most excited for because it is a week before their birthday: “We just want to go to the Twilight house and listen to Charli XCX!”