Words by Hollie Geraghty
Less than a year ago, the four sibling members of Infinity Song gathered for a band meeting where they reached a unanimous conclusion: they were not satisfied.
“That meeting was very much a milestone that I think we’ll look back at forever,” says singer and guitarist Momo Boyd today. “There were a lot of roadblocks and a lot of self doubt. But we persevered, and we banded together with a common goal and vision, and we made it happen. We got the world’s attention.”
Momo and her bandmates – brothers Abraham and Israel and sister Angel – had already been singing together, along with their five other siblings, since they were children. They had spent years busking in New York’s Central Park and on subway platforms, showcasing their gospel-inflected vocals and seamless harmonies, leading to a record deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2016. In the ensuing years, they would go viral with their simmering covers of songs by The Bee Gees, Destiny’s Child and Tame Impala. But something was still amiss: people hadn’t heard Infinity Song for who they really were just yet.
Then along came ‘Hater’s Anthem’, a hook-perfect, buttery-smooth earworm that hit all the right notes with their fans online. It was written about two years before they released it, but the song became the centrepiece of their new, revitalised approach. “We just buckled down and said, ‘We’re gonna make sure that they hear us’,” says Momo. “And then they did.”
It’s not difficult to see why ‘Hater’s Anthem’ sparked Infinity Song’s first viral moment for one of their original songs. It oozes with personality, from the tongue-in-cheek lyrics (“I love the way it feels to be a hater / Something so sweet about thinking that I’m better”), the silly sibling banter in the music video to their impeccably classic New York style. “That was super pivotal in creating this lane for ourselves,” Angel says. “Yes, we’re musicians, but we realise also now that a huge part of our artistry, and our way we connect with our fans, is that visual connection.”
We’re currently huddled around a small table in Infinity Song’s dressing room at Forbidden Fruit Festival, the Dublin stop on their first ever European run of shows. The bass from the nearby main stage sends vibrations through the makeshift walls, leaving our voices a little shaky as we retrace Infinity Song’s journey so far. “You can’t prepare for the feeling of seismic change in the way that it’s happened for us,” says Abraham.
A few days ago, Infinity Song played their biggest show to date at London’s 900-capacity Union Chapel, a fitting setting for a band with strong spiritual roots. “The exclamation mark of the UK trip has been the audiences,” shares Israel. “Honestly, they’ve been unlike any audiences we’ve ever experienced.”
“Our mission right now is to actualise our dreams as much as we’ve ever dreamed” – Momo Boyd
This run of shows comes seven months after the release of their ‘Metamorphosis’ EP, a project which captured a band in a period of transition and transformation. “What I’d give, to give it all I’ve got / What I’d do, to be something I’m not,” they sing on the pensive title track. “Never blamed, to be so nonchalant / Now I’m stuck on autopilot.” “We were just going through a lot. It was extremely tough,” says Abraham. “We were definitely frustrated with ourselves. And we also felt like we were not being seen by the world.”
In 2022, Infinity Song finally reckoned with these creative and professional hang-ups, deciding to embrace the soft rock music they thrived on making, while also stepping away from the more overtly hip-hop, R&B and pop influences on their 2020 label debut ‘Mad Love’. After all, having found their musical roots in indie acoustic instrumentals and folksy harmonies – which explains why their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ is a fan favourite – the band had a solid foundation. “It’s satire! It’s wit! There’s a banjo and an accordion. It’s Black people doing soft rock music,” their caption for one ‘Hater’s Anthem’ social teaser read.
Another song on the project, the mellow ‘Slow Burn’, also “caught like wildfire” online. The comments from entranced fans all agreed that there’s something comfortingly nostalgic yet utterly refreshing about Infinity Song. There’s that familial bond evocative of groups like The Jackson Five or The Osmonds; as for their effortlessly cool, vintage-style videos shot around the Big Apple, it’s a surprise they haven’t been hit up by the New York City tourism board yet.
“We love each other, and we’ve got each other’s backs. We have definitely gotten stronger over the years” – Israel Boyd
Two weeks after we speak, Infinity Song release their second album under Roc Nation, ‘Metamorphosis Complete’. Featuring six new tracks, it finds the band truly settled in their hard-won sound. If ‘Hater’s Anthem’ whetted listeners’ appetites, the new songs show there’s plenty more where that came from. “Now, everything from our aesthetic, our music, our lyrics, our vocals, everything just finally falls into place,” says Angel.
Growing up in Detroit, music was as much an education in the Boyd household as their homeschool curriculum. Gospel, jazz and motown filled their busy home, from Ella Fitzgerald and Ronald Isley to Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Their father and manager John – who gives NME a warm handshake when we meet briefly post-interview – was at one point directing four choirs at the same time. The siblings would workshop music around the kitchen table, a ritual that wasn’t actually too dissimilar to a certain fictional musical family. “The Sound of Music was extremely inspirational to our musical upbringing,” shares Abraham. “We watched it so many times as kids.”
But the Boyds’ parents also wanted to ensure that their children were well-rounded individuals. “Music was the lens through which they developed us. It was a way of life,” Abraham explains. They began busking as a family in 2004 and continued after moving to New York in 2006, when many of the Boyd kids were still primary school age. After around a decade of street performances come rain or shine, a clip of sister and former band member Victory (who went solo in 2022) caught the attention of The Book Of Clarence director Jeymes Samuel, who sent the video to Jay-Z. They got a meeting with the music mogul, performed two tracks – ‘Hollow’ by Tori Kelly and ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith – and landed a record deal. “We were a lot younger and rugged and very hungry, and very practised,” says Angel, “and then this came along, it was opportunity meets preparation, which is the definition of luck.”
While the band clearly boast heaps of natural talent, it’s been a journey for Infinity Song to fully lean into the soft rock genre especially since they admittedly weren’t sure they would be well received. Abraham, who sheepishly confesses he was initially a little apprehensive when Angel led the charge, says it was a process of “coming into alignment” with what they already knew to be true. Besides being musical collaborators, they are still siblings who argue like any other family. “We also love each other, and we’ve got each other’s backs. And we have definitely gotten stronger over the years, especially since 2022,” says Israel.
‘Metamorphosis Complete’ sees Infinity Song profess their collective truth and harmonise to the heavens. The vocals are tighter, the instrumentals brighter, their ambition bigger. “You all have given us such great confidence in who we are as a band and affirmation that this is where we need to be,” they said upon announcing the new record. If the EP caught them in a state of seasonal transformation, the new songs are the first bloom signalling the end of a harsh winter. “The new music that we have coming out is really even better than before,” says Momo. “The more that we just focus on the music, and focus on the art, and focus on getting it to the people in the ways that we know how, we’re just gonna keep going up and up.”
When Infinity Song take to the stage that evening, they’re nothing short of magnetic. Mr Boyd proudly scopes out the show from all angles in the crowd, while we watch most of the performance with Abraham’s very proud wife, Lina. Looking impossibly chic amid plumes of red-tinged smoke, Israel drapes his arm around Momo as Angel leans on him while belting into the microphone. Abraham, meanwhile, performs his own medley of distinct dance moves. It only takes the opening notes of ‘Hater’s Anthem’ for phones to go up and the crowd to start singing along.
Infinity Song are finally forging a path that feels good to them, and that’s why fans are starting to sit up and take notice. Now, they have the space to enjoy the process, too. “Life goes easier when you understand you’ve got to give it time / And time goes easier when you finally start enjoying the ride,” they sing on ‘The Sunshine’. “Our mission right now is to actualise our dreams as much as we’ve ever dreamed,” says Momo. “We’ve grown up dreaming really big. And now we’re adults and we’re artists, we can make it happen. It’s just a matter of going for it.”
Infinity Song’s ‘Metamorphosis Complete’ is out now via Roc Nation
Listen to Infinity Song’s exclusive playlist to accompany The Cover below on Spotify and here on Apple Music
Words: Hollie Geraghty
Photography: Tamiym
Label: Roc Nation
Location: Tileyard TYX