Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Lucy Dacus’s fourth album is an introvert’s answer to BRAT summer: a forever in your feelings spring. A tribute to her fellow Boygenius bandmember and now-girlfriend Julien Baker, Dacus devastates listeners by recalling her futile attempts at self-denial watching Baker move in and out of other relationships. Contemplating loneliness, longing, and limerence, Dacus devotes herself to Baker, imagining a time when her feelings will be reciprocated and rejoicing when they are. Once again, Dacus offers a masterclass in songwriting. She compares the simple act of making your partner a cup of tea to religious worship. She unearths the beauty contained within the mundane in her rose-tinted world. She expresses an unapologetic physical desire for Baker, begging her to “bite me on the shoulder, pull my hair”. Her lyrics are vulnerable and agonisingly relatable. If you are an aesthete, romanticise seasonal change, or fancy the barista at your local cafe, Forever Is A Feeling is a must-listen.
The opening track, ‘Calliope Prelude’, gently takes the listener’s hand as we descend into Dacus’s psyche. For all those who are not as brushed up on their Greek mythology as Dacus clearly is, Calliope is one of the feminine Muses from whom humans derive all knowledge and culture. A poet herself, she is also the mother of Orpheus, the gentle musician who attempts to rescue his wife from the afterlife with his mournful music. Dacus reimagines the lyricism of this distant world in the twelve songs that follow. Her honeyed voice in ‘Big Deal’ painfully captures the feeling of watching the person you love be happier with someone else. Followed by ‘Ankles’, the lead single and arguably its best song, the first quarter of the album is particularly strong. ‘Ankles’ reflects upon the quiet moments of a sapphic love. “I want you to show me what you mean, then help me with the crossword in the morning” contrast the passion of the previous evening with the exceptional ordinariness of a morning spent in bed, allowing Dacus to create a portrait of intimacy that pulls on all our heartstrings.
If there is a lull in the album, it would have to be its next four tracks. Dacus’s introspectiveness might produce poetic lyrics, but it is at the risk of less musically-compelling songs. Yet it is hard to deny Dacus’s brilliance when she delivers lines such as “If the devil’s in the details, then God is in the gap of your teeth”. The album’s fifth track, ‘Modigliani’, sees Dacus masterfully use the famously distorted portraiture of Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani to illustrate her state of depression while waiting for her unnamed lover to return from Singapore.
In the second half of the album, Dacus triumphs with the title track, ‘Forever is A Feeling’, ‘Best Guess’, and ‘Most Wanted Man’. ‘Most Wanted Man’ is the most upbeat song on the album, recalling those clumsy first date moments when mutual attraction gives way to foolish touches: “Now I feel your hand under the table, at a fancy restaurant, gripping on my inner thigh”. For seasoned Dacus fans who recall her third album, ‘Most Wanted Man’ is the ‘Hot & Heavy’ of Forever is A Feeling. Although it is still unconfirmed, you can hear Baker’s backing vocals on what is easily one of the best tracks on the album.
‘Come Out’ and ‘Bullseye (with Hozier)’ are classic Dacus: gentle but powerful declarations of queer love. Hozier’s usually magisterial voice leans into his folkish side singing alongside Dacus, perfectly matching the album’s themes of religious reverence and the natural world. The album closes with ‘Lost Time’, where Dacus boldly confesses her feelings to Baker. Set against the backdrop of pink blossoms and spring sunlight, Dacus exposes her heart one final time for listeners with a track that features a tearjerking crescendo and wonderfully simple lyrics “I notice everything about you”.
Forever is A Feeling embodies the beautiful and brutal act of loving someone from afar, situating Dacus as one of the most lyrically talented songwriters in the music industry. This album will leave listeners feeling nostalgic and touch-starved. You may even shed a tear. She has provided the perfect soundtrack to those of us yearning for something, or someone, this spring.
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