Historian
Lucy Dacus is done thinking small. After her 2016 debut "No Burden" won her unanimous acclaim as one of rock’s most promising new voices, Dacus returns with Historian, a remarkably assured 10-track statement of intent. It finds her unafraid to take on the big questions — the life-or-death reckonings, and the ones that just feel that way. It’s a record full of bracing realizations, tearful declarations and moments of hard-won peace, expressed in lyrics that feel destined for countless yearbook quotes and first tattoos. Dacus and her band recorded the album in Nashville last March, re-teaming with No Burden producer Collin Pastore, and mixed it a few months later with A-list studio wizard John Congleton. The sound they created, with substantial input from multi-instrumentalist and live guitarist Jacob Blizard, is far richer and fuller than the debut — an outward flowering of dynamic, living, breathing rock and roll. Dacus’ remarkable sense of melody and composition are the driving force throughout, giving Historian the immersive feel of an album made by an artist in full command of her powers. The year leading up to "Historian," with its electoral disasters and other assorted heartbreaks, has been a rough one for many of us, Dacus included. She found solace in crafting a thoughtful narrative arc, writing a concept album about cautious optimism in the face of adversity, with thematic links between songs that reveal themselves on repeat listens. “It starts out dark and ends hopeful, but it gets darker in between; it goes to the deepest, darkest, place and then breaks,” she explains. “What I’m trying to say throughout the album is that hope survives, even in the face of the worst stuff.”
On her second album, the Virginia songwriter doesn’t merely reckon with loss; she tells a story about the way people carry each other through time.
All Nerve is a strong, clear-eyed return from The Breeders; while Titus Andronicus embraces eclecticism on A Productive Cough; and oppositely, Camp Cope’s sophomore album lacks variety. These, plus Lucy Dacus, DJ Taye, and more in this week’s notable new releases.
Historian is Lucy Dacus’s Andy Dufresne-ian 500-yard crawl through a river of shit to existential freedom.
US songwriter Lucy Dacus bears her heart, soul and mega riffs in this beautiful guitar record
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The 23-year-old singer-songwriter's second album, Historian, is a uniquely powerful mix of conversational detail and glorious guitar heroics
After releasing a debut album that led to a contract with and reissue by Matador Records, singer/songwriter Lucy Dacus follows up two years later with Historian.
On Lucy Dacus's debut, she reminded us of the power of sincerity. Her 2016 release, No Burden, was a remarkably earnest, warm, workmanlike i...
Richmond, Virginia-based musician Lucy Dacus is painfully aware of the end. On "Pillar of Truth," an arresting and dirgeful augur to Dacus' late grandmother, she holistically reflects on accepting mortality with dignity.
Review of 'Historian' by Lucy Dacus' Lucy Dacus reaches great highs after some struggling on 'Historian"