An imprint of text from a dedication plaque on a bench, pressed into skin. Friends in a kind of beautiful freeze frame of mundanity, playing Grand Theft Auto, ripping a bong, snacking on popcorn. A hypnotic fixation on the gap between a lover’s teeth. A boardroom full of men seeking insight from a young woman about what’s hip, a cardboard cutout of a cowboy in the background. These are just some of Lucy Dacus’ vividly painted scenes off her fourth album, Forever is a Feeling, an ornate exercise in falling deep in love.
Listening to each of Dacus’ records is like watching a bosom buddy grow into themselves, becoming more at ease and self-assured over time. Aptly, then, she’s at her most grown-up here, like your best friend confiding in you that they may have met “the one.” Sparkling with ethereal strings and Dacus’ so-detailed-it’s-head-spinning lyricism, her latest is a baroque exploration of intimacy.
