Renaissance-style romance and yearning is back. Or, at least, that’s what singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus says.
On March 28, Dacus released 13 tracks under the album “Forever Is A Feeling.” In just under 45 minutes, Dacus sees love as something gentle, soft and pliable. The album is not brash or loud; rather, it gently coddles the listener and eases them slowly into the waters of love. On the contrary, some tracks follow her experience with breakups. Through this, Dacus argues that forever can not be a guarantee but only a feeling.
Dacus is notorious for viewing the monotonous and dull through rose-tinted glasses. “Forever Is A Feeling” is a particularly tender, full-body lunge into the affection and devotion she craves.
She has captured the attention of countless different audiences since the release of her album “Historian” in 2018, but her career took off when she joined the iconic Boygenius, along with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. Together, they made their first studio album “the record” in 2023, which later received seven nominations and three Grammys.
The album also features musical guest Hozier and contributions by Madison Cunningham, Blake Mills, Jay Som, Baker and Bridgers. But, this is not the first time listeners have seen the “Too Sweet” star tagging along with Boygenius.
On June 7, 2024, Dacus joined Hozier on stage at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York to sing “I, Carrion (Icarian).”
Hozier later told the New Yorker in an interview that Dacus’ work “‘has the gift of being able to fall upon the inanimate or the mundane and pull it from the startlingly intimate.’” Hozier also shared that he “‘always loved the eye through which her lyrical voice finds the world.’”
Ahead of the release of her fourth solo album, Dacus’ released explicit “Ankles” alongside a music video and the tragic “Limerence” on January 15.
“Ankles” is a particularly beautiful song, contrary to her previously well-known ballads of agony, such as “Night Shift.” The song expresses romantic daydreams and odes to embracing fast nights and slow mornings with your partner.
“Limerence” touches on the relatable feelings often found in breakups, like “shoveling popcorn into my mouth, so I don’t say the things that I’m thinking out loud.” Dacus expresses that she is running from her emotions and how breaking up with her partner damages her just as much as them.
The early releases also foreshadowed her theme for the album: A princess in an excessively big ball gown wandering aimlessly through modern day society, seemingly lost, confused and out of touch.
In addition, Dacus later dropped “Best Guess” accompanied by its music video. Quickly becoming iconic, the music video features Towa Bird (partner and opening act for Reneé Rapp), Naomi McPherson (of MUNA), Elio Kennedy-Yoon (of Harvard Din & Tonics) and Mattie Westbrouck (TikTok media star) playing darts, doing push-ups and boxing, all while Dacus serenades the viewer.
“Talk” then dropped on March 12, modifying the subject and tone of the album away from the previously delightful and upbeat back to her original, superficially torpid style.
Just 10 days before the release of her album “Forever is a Feeling,” Dacus soft-launched her relationship with fellow bandmate Baker in an interview with The New Yorker. The announcement leaves listeners to question how many of the songs on her track are in reference to Baker.
I have ranked songs on this new album, from worst to best:
- “Calliope Prelude”
A romantic instrumental introduces the album with careless ease. It is disappointing to rank it so low, since it was charming in manner, but it simply falls in 13th place.
- “Limerence”
The tragic “Limerence” falls short of expectations. In its release alongside “Ankles,” Dacus announced on an Instagram reel that it was impulsive, and even she “personally [found] it hard to listen to.” I’m compelled to agree with Dacus here.
- “Big Deal”
“Big Deal” blends together all the other past, present and most likely future Dacus songs. It features her illustrious style but tends to get bland in repetition. The tune is sweet, but it is missing something that sets it apart. Dacus’ lyrics could not help her here. Ultimately, “Big Deal” is a filler song at best.
- “Come Out”
“Come Out” shines as one of the acoustic tracks. Dacus’ voice is light and airy. On this song, listeners could annotate every line and still run out of room on the page. In her lyrics, Dacus pleads that she wants to be close to the person she loves most, and she wants them to come to her. “[She] is ready for you. [She] can’t wait, [she] can wait, but [she] does [not] want to.”
- “Modigliani”
A ballad of love, “Modigliani” (mow·di·glee·ah·nee) explores some of Dacus’ past experiences of love, as it relates to her current relationships. Dacus wrote this song specifically about Bridgers, while she was away on tour. Dacus is adept at putting words to her feelings: “You make me homesick for places I’ve never been before. How’d you do that? How’s tomorrow so far?” The adorably witty lines would be better showcased in a letter or a short-form style poetry book.
- “Talk”
In typical Dacus-style, this grungy track consists mostly of keening and wails of suffering. Strikingly repetitive and bland, the song mimics questions left behind in an abandoned relationship. “Why can’t we talk anymore? We used to talk for hours,” Dacus inquires. The catchy whistle featured throughout the song attracts more attention to “Talk” and encourages the listener to continue through the album.
- “For Keeps”
Redundant in all its glory, Dacus still manages to pack so much raw emotion into two minutes and eleven seconds. Exhausting the limit of figurative language, Dacus emphasizes that “if the Dеvil’s in the details, then God is in the gap in your teeth. You are doing the Lord’s work every time you smile at me.” The song must be what poets dream of.
- “Lost Time”
Simple lyrics build the love that Dacus has concealed. Dacus shares in “Lost Time” that she has held affection for bandmate Baker since their friendship, and “every day that I knew and didn’t say is lost time.” In Dacus fashion, she focuses on the details that strengthen her relationship and how the little things are really the things that matter the most.
- “Forever Is A Feeling”
The eponymously titled song for which the album is named does not disappoint. “Forever Is A Feeling” accurately summarizes the keynote of the entire album: sentimentally sweet. This upbeat track seems to fit Dacus’ voice better than the typical languid vocals, which seem to be her forte. For that reason, “Forever Is A Feeling” stands out among all the other mid-tempo love songs.
- “Most Wanted Man”
With a sharp, rustic guitar twinge, Dacus drags on the themes of breakup, as heard in “Bullseye.” “I never thought I’d see you looking at me this way … I thought you’d hate me forever,” Dacus reflects. Yet, as a notorious “non-believer”, she “still believe[s] in God sometimes, it always takes [her] by surprise, to catch [her]self in the middle of praying, but [she] thank[s] God for you.” Dacus’ emotional complexity of the song is a testament to her dedication of vulnerability to her audience within her songwriting, and it is poignantly beautiful.
- “Best Guess”
The laid-back “Best Guess” makes one crave love. Soft keyboard and pleasant guitar strumming pair well with Dacus’ vocals to create concrete evidence of the love and commitment viewers already expect from the singer. “You are my pack a day,” says Dacus, emphasizing that the person she is singing about is someone she can rely on to be her “best bet” for the future.
- “Bullseye (with Hozier)”
Released alongside a live performance at The National Gallery of Ireland, the lament that is “Bullseye” reflects on a past relationship by highlighting dread in the mundane. In this song, Hozier almost manages to outshine Dacus. His voice exhibits more passion and affection than she evokes. However, this does not change the integrity and appealing nature of the song; rather, it enhances it, as reflected in its high ranking among the albums other tracks. This is a song that will still be added to playlists in 25 years.
- “Ankles”
In what I believe is the top song on the album, Dacus perfectly describes how the seemingly dull aspects of a relationship are the most essential, simply put in the words of Dacus herself, “You are gonna make me tea.” The longing Dacus describes captures the listener and keeps a steady hold on them for the rest of the song.
In this song, Dacus wants her partner to “show [her] what [they] mean, then help [her] with the crossword in the morning.” Dacus does not leave room for interpretation. What she “wants and cannot have” is not obfuscated. She wants her partner to “[not] move when [she] tell[s] you what to do,” then, in the morning, “ask [her] how did she sleep?” The staccato of the strings, the vocals and the gentle guitar strumming adds up to the perfect track.
Dacus is touring in the United States from April 16 to September 11. Buy tickets here.
