Lucy Dacus - "Forever is a Feeling"
Lucy Dacus is a darling of the Indie Rock and Folk worlds. That status is somewhat new, though. I should acknowledge that she wasn’t really flying under the radar before; her third album, 2021’s Home Videos charted a peak position of 104 on the Billboard 200 and actually hit #3 on the US Folk chart. But Forever is a Feeling peaked at #16 and #1 on those charts, respectively, in spite of several critics saying the previous album was much better.
So what gives?
Well, Dacus is a member of a larger Indie Rock supergroup called Boygenius, alongside Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. And in 2023, the group dropped their debut album, The Record, to critical acclaim, and this outlet was no exception.1
Following the Boygenius record, I’ve been looking forward to reviewing a standalone Dacus album, as she was the one member of the group that I had zero familiarity with going into that album (and I haven’t had time to explore her older discography).
Forever is a Feeling is a very vibey listen. The Rock influences are very sparse — they’re still present, and more obvious in some songs than others, but rarely (if ever) the top genric element. Rather, it’s very strongly Indie Folk with a very Poppy structure, as the vocals are frequently VERY forward in the mix, like there’s only one mic and it’s directly in front of Dacus’ lips.
The result is this dreamy atmosphere (not quite actual Dream Pop) which ties into the album’s existence as an extended love song; every song on the album is a love song of some sort. There’s some variance here and there, but the puffy, reverb-laden and wistful tone is consistent through its moderate highs and lows.
The subject of the album is fellow indie musician, and Boygenius bandmate, Julien Baker, with whom Dacus has been in a relationship for a bit now. Each song stands alone, with details which, on the surface, are all about different people. But the album at-large is about loving somebody, and Dacus’ experience in this relationship with Baker.
Dacus’ lyricism and soft alto vocals tie this subject matter intimately into the dreamy Indie Folk atmospherics, crafting some seriously beautiful moments in the process. Bringing in Hozier on “Bullseye” definitely doesn’t hurt (though the feature is a little underwhelming).
The downside, though, is that several songs get lost in the mix or just don’t seem to stand properly on their own. On a straight listen, the overwhelming amount of downbeat tracks becomes somewhat overwhelming; I’m ready to stop listening after “For Keeps”, which feels like exaggerated acoustic slowcore, but title track “Forever is a Feeling” manages to break the tedium a bit. “Come Out” brings it back, though.
Really, that middle section of the album just drags it down. It starts with “Limerence”, a strange, show-tuney downer breaking the momentum that “Big Deal” and “Ankles” generated, and doesn’t begin to pick back up until “Best Guess”. “Modigliani” and “Talk” are good, but can’t recover what’s been lost.
Overall, it’s still a very good album with a few standout songs in “Big Deal”, “Ankles”, “Come Out”, “Most Wanted Man”, and closer “Lost Time”. I’m not disappointed; this was a solid first experience with Dacus. I see what some of the album’s detractors are saying, though.
Rating: Green
The Record would go on to rank 26th in my 2023 Top 40 rundown.