Lucy Dacus explores a new sound for her music with her latest release. On March 28, Dacus released her first album since 2021, “Forever Is a Feeling.” This album marks a significant change in her style, being more string-focused than her usual indie rock sound in previous albums like “Historian” and “No Burden.” To go more in depth in how she presented this new album, here are my track by track thoughts.
What separates good albums from great albums is an intentional track order, especially intentional opening and closing tracks. Specifically for opening tracks like “Calliope Prelude,” it should be very standalone and only listened to when you want to listen to the entire album, such as “The Elevator” from Lizzy McAlpine’s “Older” or “DVD Menu” from Phoebe Bridgers’ “Punisher.” This song is a great example of an intentional first track because it provides a good taste of the rest of the album without overwhelming the listener immediately with a poppy hit. The transition into the second track, “Big Deal,” also shows the thought Dacus put behind the track order.
In “Big Deal,” the simple guitar and drums for the production lets Dacus’ strength in lyric writing shine. She brings the listener through a full story of how she wants to pursue a relationship with someone, and they do as well, but they both know it can never happen. However, I didn’t enjoy the big build-up at the end of the song. In my opinion, it would’ve better benefited from a nice instrumental outro to give that same unsteady effect.
“Ankles” was perfectly placed on this album. Having an upbeat song within the first few tracks helps listeners get acclimated with the sound of the album, especially with most being familiar with this song as it is a single. However, I don’t enjoy the modest production of verse two. That section would be improved if it better displayed her vocal range rather than it being mostly monotone. To hear more of my opinions on this song, read my review, Baila’s Top 8 of January .
“Limerence” is eerie in a good way. The slightly off-putting production from the almost screechy violins gives the listener the same unsure feeling that Dacus expresses in the lyrics. For example, “Is there a differеnce between lying to you/If it feels just as bad as telling thе truth?” This song is also one of the best examples of Dacus’s vocal range. Throughout the majority of “Limerence,” she stays in her higher range but explores some lower notes as the song progresses. This song is a great example of how Dacus makes her quieter songs stay interesting.
“Modigliani” has my favorite production from the entirety of “Forever Is a Feeling.” The unique drum beat and scattered noise is a style Dacus has yet to explore before this, and she succeeded in capturing that disorganized vibe through the instrumental. Additionally, this gives room for Dacus to show off her writing, my favorite lyrics being, “When you told me 'bout your new man it wasn't news/'Cause you've got all these mannerisms that you never do/Like rolling your eyes and laughing real dry/Like you were trying him on for size.” I also appreciated the small detail of fellow Boygenius member Phoebe Bridgers’ background vocals, which you can hear well in the bridge and the outro.
“Talk” is the first time Dacus has been angry not only with her lyrics but also with the production since her 2018 album “Historian.” The crunchy sounding production displays Dacus’ bittersweet, confused anger effectively. She profoundly showcases the universal experience of growing apart from someone. Moreover, this song’s bridge is undoubtedly the best on the album because of how strong the production is and the outro is short but effective, which are two aspects I’ve found Dacus hasn’t done as well on this album.
“For Keeps” is my personal favorite song on this album; the guitar-driven production and sorrowful tone being heavily reminiscent of my favorite song from her work with Boygenius, “We’re In Love.” Usually, songs that don’t have complex production bore me upon the first few listens; however, this song completely subverts that. Just the combination of the simple guitar and her voice is entirely fulfilling production-wise. On top of that, the lyrics are cleverly heartbreaking. My favorite example of this is in verse two with the line, “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.” When she finally reveals in the final line that her relationship won’t be together much longer, it makes all the sweet lyrics twist into a more bittersweet meaning.
Honestly, when I first heard “Forever Is a Feeling”, the main piano riff that goes throughout the entirety of the song annoyed me. However, I appreciate the symbolism of the riff staying constant and going on forever because of how it relates to the meaning and title of the song. Making the second verse’s production more complex was the right move to give the listener a break from that constant piano riff. That second verse is the highlight of the song, not just with instrumentation but also in writing. “I’m reading you like road signs, tell me where to go/My wrists are in your zip tie,” flows nicely and is a clever nod to her bandmate Julien Baker’s 2021 song “Ziptie.” However, since this is the title track, I would appreciate some more string like she does in “Ankles” and “Bullseye” to capture the sound she was attempting for the album as a whole.
The first verse of “Come Out” captures a nice dreamy vibe, especially with the use of the harp, but it all goes downhill during the first chorus. This is a personal pet peeve, but I cannot stand songs that use common phrases as the main line in the chorus because of how gimmicky it feels. If you’ve read my review of Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” then you know I despised “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and how she makes the lyrics in the album too personal. This album’s “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is “Come Out.” It’s too repetitive and breaks the fourth wall in the line “I wanna scream my throat raw and if that means I never sing again/At least I'll know I went out with a bang.” After this line, I was drawn out of the experience of the album entirely.
“Best Guess” has grown on me significantly since I reviewed it in my Top 8 of February . The modest production is a nice break from the complexity of the rest of the album, especially after a lower quality track. Though I said “Best Guess”’ production is too repetitive, I’ve grown to appreciate the simplicity, especially since it’s her first time she’s released a proper love song.
“Bullseye” has great production for the transition into spring. Similar to “Best Guess,” this song’s simple production lets her writing shine. My personal favorite lyrics are, “I’ll miss borrowing your books to read your notes in the margin/The closest I ever came to reading your mind.” Additionally, Dacus and Hozier’s vocals blend well which is very impressive considering it’s Dacus’ first time doing a collaboration on her solo work. Overall, this is a basic but great track that prepares listeners for the more drum driven track that follows it, “Most Wanted Man.”
The first thing I noticed when I listened to “Most Wanted Man” for the first time was how similar it sounds to the sound Julien Baker has been exploring in the songs she’s been releasing for her collaboration with Torres. “Most Wanted Man” has clear inspiration from Baker, especially because she has background vocals on this song. I did find the chorus too repetitive but it is contrasted by the satisfying chord progression and nice change of pace compared to the rest of the album.
I was highly disappointed with “Lost Time.” Usually, Dacus does well with placing very intentional songs for the closing tracks of her albums; however, this song was lackluster because it felt like a last minute decision to make it the final song. It’s classic for albums to end with a song that contains a big build-up, but for this one, it was just a big moment that came too late in the song. Since it started with calm production, I was hoping for something similar to past closing tracks “...Familiar Place” and “Historians” where she’s gone in a calmer and quieter direction, but instead she switched it to be more similar to “Triple Dog Dare” with the loud outro at the last minute. If “Lost Time” was placed somewhere else in the album, maybe I would feel different, but currently, it is entirely clouded by its placement since this is such an important spot on any album.
Overall, “Forever Is a Feeling” is an excellent example of how to effectively change artistic styles. Even if slight, it was fun hearing how Dacus explored different approaches to her instrumentation. It didn’t feel like a few songs that she decided to throw together and release, it felt like a cohesive and intentional project. Because of this and the good production, I give this album an 8/10, but there were many overlooked details that deteriorate the experience of the album. However, the overall quality of the album was excellent and I plan on listening to it frequently.
