Lucy Dacus is in love, and she wants you to know it. Her fourth studio album, Forever is a Feeling, is hopeful at its core in painting pastels of hope and the scary, messy reality of falling in love. Despite her being known for her mournful and piercing lyrics of heartbreak, this deeply introspective dive into her relationship is a raw exploration of letting yourself love entirely.
“Ankles,” the first single, sets the tone for the hazy dreamscape of the album. Dacus’ signature soft vocals paired with gentle strings evoke the romanticism of the album’s artwork, a Renaissance-style painting. The glistening strings in “Calliope Prelude” match this feeling; we are in the cloud of romance with her, falling into love as she does.
Dacus’ storytelling is, as always, unmatched. “Modigliani,” a self-professed song about fellow Boygenius supergroup member Phoebe Bridgers, captures longing for connection and long-distance platonic heartbreak: “You make me homesick for places I’ve never been before”. The fairy-tale harp continues this dreamlike state. The folk-country “Most Wanted Man” (in Tennessee) is hard not to connect to Dacus’ partner–Boygenius member Julien Baker–who was raised outside of Memphis and sings backing vocals. With sweeping electric guitars, Dacus captures a whirlwind of memories to keep, “‘cause who gets the chance like the one I have / to catch the most wanted man in West Tennessee?”
“Bullseye” will undoubtedly become a fan favourite. The track, featuring Hozier, blends their voices seamlessly, going back and forth between past lovers lamenting what went wrong and what could have been. Dacus’ only song with a featured artist is a career-defining collaboration.
The title track’s fast-paced rhythm and staccato high-pitched piano mirror the inconsistent unpredictability of love. The gradual build-up of drums accompanies the crescendo and refrain of “forever is a feeling and I know it well”. The unpredictable drums and soft piano feel like pieces falling into place. Dacus’ vulnerable storytelling is at its best, grounding the listener and drawing them in with specific memories that act like timestamps in her relationship.
Through an album that sounds like winter turning into spring, Dacus’s lyrical dreamscape is a glimmering representation of hope and a celebration of love in all its forms.
“Lucy Dacus 2019” by David Lee is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.