Lucy Dacus was once offered a record contract from 20 or so labels. They knew that the warmth and comfort the Virginia-based singer-songwriter’s music conjures was worth spreading. Her new album Historian continues that wonderful feeling.
Lucy Dacus released Historian’s first single ‘Night Shift’ in 2017, sparking excitement for Matador Records’ latest newcomer. Her buttery voice and talent for melancholy-soaked songs that tip a hat to early Liz Phair earned her deserved acclaim in 2016. Second single ‘Addictions’ plants distant horns over the singer’s struggle with old habits.
The album feels like a ‘90s college radio nugget facing towards the future. Grungy guitars keep the album afloat with elements of baroque pop like on ‘Nonbeliever’. The sweetly sounding ‘Body To Flame’ is a touch of Joan Baez, while third single ‘Next of Kin’ has Dacus speaking from the great beyond, feeling comforted by her demise. The seven-minute epic ‘Pillar of Truth’ is the album’s centrepiece, culminating into a wild climax of battling guitars and horns.
Historian is the musician’s second release and already she’s shown how well she can spin a pop record in 2018. “This is the album I needed to make,” Dacus once said, and we agree.
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