The fourth solo album from boygenius’ Lucy Dacus is relentlessly and mournfully romantic — as she comes to terms with her feelings for her fellow bandmate Julien Baker.
Lucy Dacus is the writer of a lifetime. She is capable of conveying emotion like no other artist can. While she takes on a wave of tranquility with these new songs, the precise poetry she chooses to put out makes for an otherworldly listening experience. There is a clear story being told here. Dacus is trapped in a relationship with someone she doesn’t truly love because she is suppressing her feelings for a close friend, fearing that the friendship will end, leading to a lot of unspoken words and dreadful regret.
The “so close yet so far” trope is a recurring theme on this record. “But I still miss you when I’m with you” she sings on “For Keeps”, which parallels “Even on opposite sides of the room, I am mourning you” on “Come Out”. There’s something so hopelessly devastating about anything sung in Dacus’ voice, and you can never get enough.
The melancholia, however, does not outshine the pure romanticism that is also explored. On the pièce de résistance of this album, “Most Wanted Man”, Dacus sings “I just wanna 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.” There’s a clear difference between the obsession or infatuation found on bubblegum pop love songs and the unadulterated love that she expresses in her music. No matter if a feeling is good, bad, mundane, or anything else — Dacus has an artful cadence that is truly irreplicable.
