Lucy Dacus’s fourth studio album Forever Is A Feeling was released in late March. A lot has changed for the singer-songwriter since her last album release in 2021, the most obvious of which is the release of her band Boygenius’s album, The Record. From being swept into the mainstream, playing a sold-out tour, and winning three Grammys, Dacus has had an exciting couple of years with her band. Now, life has slowed down, and Forever Is A Feeling reflects on how Dacus’s life has changed in wonderful, painful, and confusing ways.
The album starts with Calliope Prelude. The opening track feels much like the album cover’s baroque style, which can be seen further in Dacus’s night at the museum-themed tour. With its high, fluttering, almost regal violin instrumentals, it catches listeners’ ears, pulling them into the world and mind of Dacus. The orchestral crescendo feels like a true beginning; Like waking up to an incredible view, the lights dimming at a movie theatre, or the first painting you see at an art museum. This simple yet elegant song feels like a statement of exactly where Dacus is creating from: a curiosity and appreciation for the beauty of her life, and the bittersweet feeling of change. From the waxing and waning of her relationships to the sentimental noticings of everyday life, it is simply captured in a stripped-down violin solo.
The album then effortlessly flows into Big Deal. The song opens, and listeners are transported to a field of daffodils, sitting like a spectator as Dacus has an intimate and emotional conversation. The first lines of the song read, “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.” Dacus receives a love confession from her converser, which they can’t—or won’t—act upon. Dacus’s hope is quickly snuffed out like a cigarette. The lyrics are chest-aching. Later in the song, Dacus imagines attending her counterpart’s wedding, forcing a smile, being “sincerely happy for the both of you… not even wishing it was me and you.” Who is she speaking to? She doesn’t say, but it can be easily inferred to friend, bandmate, and recently announced significant other, Julien Baker.
Dacus’s work has always been true to her experiences, however, she usually keeps her private life private. With the recent success of her band Boygenuis, such private things have become not so private, including her much speculated relationship with Baker. It is understandably difficult to have your life so publicly scrutinized, however, Dacus seems to be owning her vulnerability in Forever is a Feeling. Listeners get a more personal look into her thoughts and experiences that feels, not necessarily more emotionally impactful than her previous work, but a lot more candid.
Throughout the album, Dacus gives some resolution to the conversation in Big Deal. In songs like Best Guess and Most Wanted Man, we get a more upbeat take on the excitement of looking at a future with someone. In Best Guess, one of the album’s main singles, Dacus sings, “I love your body / I love your mind / they will change / so will mine, but you are my / best guess at the future.” Further down the album in Most Wanted Man, Dacus (with vocal features from Baker herself) sings a similar sentiment, “I just want to make you happy / Will you let me spend a lifetime trying? / And if you do, I’ll have time to write the book on you.”
Not every song paints such a happy picture. Talk uses drifting vocals and intense instrumentals to transport listeners to a car ride on a “serpentine” road. Dacus is sitting in the passenger’s seat, having an uncomfortably quiet drive with a previous significant other. The couple is noticing their relationship starting to decline, with fights, inconsistency, and nothing to talk about. She sings, “Why can’t we talk anymore? / We used to talk for hours / Do I make you nervous or bored? / Or did I drink you to the last drop?” In promotional material, Dacus says about the creation of this album, “You have to destroy things in order to create things. And I did destroy a really beautiful life.” Everything must come to an end, even once beautiful relationships and she depicts this past relationship with a lot of weight and gratitude. Through these themes and a tapestry of emotion, Dacus crafts an unconventional yet powerful “breakup song.”
The album closes with the song Lost Time, a complicated ballad that is ultimately about regret. Dacus reminisces on her relationship with Baker and all the time she spent denying how she felt, often keeping these feelings to herself. She sings, “But I love you, and every day / that I knew and didn’t say is lost time… / is a crying shame / it’s a crime / a waste of space / lost time.” Life is short. Things change. You don’t always have enough time with the people you love. Dacus sings so tenderly about this relationship, and it is clear to any listener how invested she is. The delivery of these grief-filled lyrics, along with the reserved musical accompaniment that suddenly bursts to life at the climax of the song, just perfects the emotional rollercoaster. Why would Dacus choose to end on such a frankly depressing and unresolved note? Because it lets Dacus go all in and lay her cards on the table. Dacus, a curious and wise artist, has no answers to the grief that comes with relationships and time. She isn’t claiming to. To admit that through her art is to allow herself to leave the door open to explore it even further. And maybe allow the listener to join her in that exploration.
More than in her previous works, Dacus’s curiosity for life shines through in Forever Is A Feeling. Artists create for many different reasons, but Dacus creates to hone her understanding of the world, life, and herself. Her experiences with fame and complicated relationships have only enriched her emotionally attuned songwriting. As she continues to build her ever-evolving voice, who knows what this sincere artist will share next?
