One-third of the supergroup Boygenius, Lucy Dacus is back to her solo roots in her first album since the band released its 2023 debut, “The Record.”
“Forever Is A Feeling,” the fourth solo album by Dacus, was released Friday, March 28 via Geffen Records and features her Boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, as well as Hozier, Bartees Strange, Madison Cunningham, Collin Pastore, Jake Finch, Melina Duterte, and Blake Mills, who produced the album. Most of the songs were written between the fall of 2022 and the summer of 2024.
“I got kicked in the head with emotions,” Dacus said in a release about the album. “Falling in love, falling out of love.”
“You have to destroy things in order to create things. And I did destroy a really beautiful life,” she continued. “You can’t actually capture forever. But I think we feel forever in moments. I don’t know how much time I’ve spent in forever, but I know I’ve visited.”
The album opens with a beautiful violin introduction in “Calliope Prelude,” before melting away into the signature folksy Americana Dacus sound that made me love “The Record” so much.
“Big Deal” details the feeling of first love in poetic detail, and we get the first references to the subject on many songs on the album—Baker.
“Flicking embers into daffodils
You didn’t plan to tell me how you feel
You laugh about it like it’s no big deal
Crush the fire underneath your heel.”
Those strings from the intro return for “Ankles,” and the layers build upon themselves with Dacus’ voice to create a cozy blanket of sound as she details how she envisions her romance.
“Pull me by the ankles to the edge of the bed
And take me like you do in your dreams
I’m not gonna stop you
I’m not gonna stop you this time, baby
I want you to show me what you mean
Then help me with thе crossword in the mornings
You are gonna make mе tea
Gonna ask me how did I sleep.”
Dacus paints the scene of a party in “Limerence,” showing the contrast between the external and internal as she slowly plays a piano melody. She muses about the future: “I’m thinking about breaking your heart someday soon, and if I do, I’ll be breaking mine too.”
On “Modigliani,” Dacus continues to detail her infatuation from afar, like she was looking at a Modigliani painting. One of my favorite facts about Dacus is that the Mechanicsville, Virginia native spent about four years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She said she wrote “Modigliani” after visiting The Barnes Museum—which is the best museum I’ve ever visited.
“I’ve heard this anecdote at least a dozen times
Yeah, I know every word and inflection as if it were mine
I like watching you win over a new crowd
You can make ’em go wild, you can leave ’em spellbound
But you will never be
Famous to me”
“Talk” has the most rock edge as Dacus describes the ending of a relationship that dried up when the conversation stopped.
“Your body looming like a spectre
Hungry as a scythe
If you come reaping, I’ll come running
I still know what you like.”
The quiet acoustic track “For Keeps” has the 29-year-old singer-songwriter putting all her emotions into the lyrics of the song as she yearns for her love.
“But I still miss you
When I’m with you
‘Cause I know we’re not
Playing for keeps.”
The track matches the chorus for the title track:
“This is bliss
This is Hell
Forever is a feeling
And I know it well”
The electronic production of the track contrasts well with the acoustic chorus. However, my favorite example of an acoustic-led track by Dacus is the following one, “Come Out.” Again, it puts her inner monologue against the description of what she sees.
“Waking up in a new city every day
Makes me believe more and more that they’re all the same
It’s just a pharmacy, coffee shop, bookstore, and bank
And a tourist attraction that most locals hate”
The best example of songs written to Baker are “Best Guest,” which combines acoustic rhythm and an electric solo:
“You may not be an angel
But you are my girl
You are my pack a day
You are my favorite place
You were my best friend before you were
My best guess at the future”
The other is “Most Wanted Man,” which features Baker:
“Now I feel your hand under the table
At the fancy restaurant
Gripping on my inner thigh
Like if you don’t I’m gonna run
But I’m not going anywhere
Least not anywhere you’re not
Got me wrapped around your finger
Tied in a double knot”
In “Bullseye,” which features Hozier, it seems there is an obvious reference to Baker in the line:
“But I always loved the way you played guitar
You’ve got style, no one’s doin’ it like you are”
But the song turns into a breakup song as she sings:
“Found some of your stuff at the new house
Packed it on accident when I was movin’ out
Probably wrong to think of them as your gifts to me
More like victims of my sentimentality”
The album ends with “Lost Time,” about spending more time with the subject of her affection—likely Baker:
“I wish that we could have a place that we could share
Not only stolen moments in abandoned halls
Quiet touch in elevators and bathroom stalls”
Throughout “Forever Is A Feeling,” Lucy Dacus discovers herself through her love of others. The 13 songs and 43 minutes of devotion are both comforting and heartwarming as she makes each word a testament to her truth.
See Lucy Dacus live:
April 16 – The Met, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with Katie Gavin and jasmine.4.t
April 18–19 – The Anthem, Washington, DC with Katie Gavin and jasmine.4.t
April 23–24 – Radio City Music Hall, New York City with Katie Gavin and jasmine.4.t
July 25 – Make The World Better at FDR Park, Philadelphia with Julien Baker, TORRES, and Jay Som
Get “Forever Is A Feeling”
From Lucy Dacus, Bandcamp, Amazon, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, Deezer, and qobuz.
Favorite Tracks
Big Deal
Ankles
Modigliani
Talk
For Keeps
Forever Is A Feeling
Come Out
Best Guess
Lost Time
