Lucy Dacus

Sounds Like: Hyper-aware missives from a friend whose mind is always whirling.

For Fans Of: Eleanor Friedberger, Wye Oak, Sebadoh's "Rebound"

Why You Should Pay Attention: Richmond-based Lucy Dacus has a knack for writing disarmingly open indie rock songs, with plainspoken lyrics that hit even harder thanks to her soft, sturdy alto. Her debut No Burden, which comes out February 26th, was recorded in Nashville over the course of a single day. Dacus's voice is surrounded by gently churning guitars with forays into dreampop (the fuzzed-out ending to the sturdy "Dreamtime") and stark acoustic tracks ("Trust," one of Dacus's earliest songs).

She Says: "Usually I'll just be walking from my house to somewhere else, and melodies and words will start coming up, and I'll have to run home to write it all down. I have a huge note on my phone where things just start popping up. It doesn't make that much sense to me at the time, but once a song is finished, I can read into it and figure out who the characters are in my life. Hopefully when you listen to a song, you can say, 'That's me,' or 'That's someone I know' — you relate to it in a way that's cathartic."

Hear for Yourself: "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore" is a pitch-perfect portrait of a woman feeling boxed in by the way her peers view her, with Dacus' thoughts about potential personas grounded by a steady chug. Maura Johnston



Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/10-new-artists-you-need-to-know-january-2016-20160125/lucy-dacus-20160124#ixzz3yYsNS0o2
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook - Rolling Stone

“I thought you’d hit rock bottom, but I’m starting to think that it doesn’t exist,” Lucy Dacus sings on “Strange Torpedo,” the second single from her upcoming debut album, No Burden. “‘Cause you’ve been falling for so long, and you haven’t hit anything solid yet.” Trying to help someone you love who doesn’t want it — or is too blinded by their own vices to accept it — can be the most frustrating and disheartening situation in the world. Watching someone engage in unhealthy behavior is painful, and you’re powerless to do anything about it except wait until they (hopefully) come around.

Dacus takes on the role of a concerned friend, never directly confronting her loved one’s bad habits, but constantly playing out possible solutions to them in her own head — “I get tongue-tied every time I try to tell you what I think is right,” “I’m more surprised every time you’re alive when I check for breath in the morning.” Just like she did on her lead single “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore,” the Richmond, VA singer casts an all-knowing but hesitant eye, observational but passive. “You’re a strange torpedo on the loose/ And I’ll play the fool, I’ll play the fool,” Dacus reiterates in the chorus. Listen below. - Stereogum

Like a young Courtney Barnett, Richmond singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus hits the nail on the head with her new single "I Don't Want To Be Funny Anymore." The song is off her debut album No Burden, which is out February 26 via EggHunt Records.

Dacus told The FADER over e-mail that while writing the song, she was thinking about "how stressful it is to be pegged as a certain type of person and feel the need to always live up to that identity people assign to you, especially if you're the 'funny one.'" She continues, "You can't always be jolly or vivacious or clever or positive, but when people expect that from you, you don't wanna let them down." Yes, girl. The feeling of being stuck in one archetype isn't very fun.

Dacus says she remembers being the "funny one" when she was growing up, and "always envying other tropes, thinking like, 'why can't I be the cute one, the smart one, the mysterious one, the one that's good at dodgeball?'" Now that she's older, she knows she doesn't have to be stuck in a box, but that "there are still times people get sick of living up to what people expect of them." I don't want the joke to be on me, she sings. Try not to laugh/ I know it'll be hard/ I'm serious/ I know it's a first, but...That funny girl/ doesn't wanna smile for a while. It's that kind of introspection that makes "I Don't Want To Be Funny Anymore" so charming. It doesn't hurt that Dacus' sweet voice is the kind that gets under your skin, and that the track's beat and hooks are on earworm level. Stream "I Don't Want To Be Funny Anymore" below. - The Fader

Getting boxed into being something you’re not is not fun. And it’s not funny, as Lucy Dacus lays out so pointedly on “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore,” the lead single from the Richmond singer’s forthcoming debut album, No Burden. The track reminds me of when I was in high school and it felt like I was being treated like some sassy gay side character in a sitcom, and it fucking sucked. People stood around waiting for my next punchline, and it was demoralizing and completely out of my control. No matter how smart I was and no matter how hard I tried to push against it, the world had decreed my personality type and there was nothing I could do about it.

But individuals contain multitudes, and feeling constrained by your friend group is a situation that can be changed. Dacus’ song offers an escape, but still feels held back by the fear over forging your own path and bucking societal expectations: “Is there room in the band? I don’t need to be the frontman/ If not, then I’ll be the biggest fan.” Later, she embraces all of the different aspects of herself: “I don’t want to the joke to be on me/ I’ll buy the clothes and I’ll be the best dressed/ I’ll read the books and I’ll be the smartest/ I’ll play guitar, and I’ll be the artist.” Getting people to take you seriously is an uphill battle, but it’s all worth it, and that confidence shines through in Dacus’ music. Listen via The Fader below. - Stereogum

Richmond, Virginia native Lucy Dacus is a self-taught singer-songwriter who released her first EP in 2012 and there’s something magical about the simplicity and soul in this artists songs that I had to share with you. The intricacy and vulnerability of her lyrics (especially of her newer songs) is refreshing. The type of music she makes is the music you want to put on while you lay on the floor and tune out the rest of the world. I get the same feeling listening to Angel Olsen’s early stuff (think the Strange Cacti EP) with its intangible quality and golden age country/western undertones. There’s something intrinsically comforting and warm in her music, and in her voice. The way she captures moments of raw emotion reminds me a lot of Waxahatchee and even of Karen O’s solo stuff, they all share a quality of being able to tell me in just a few words exactly how the world is weighing on them.

Lucy’s music is simple but at times it’s simply breathtaking, let’s be honest I’ve cried more than a few times while listening to her song “Lullaby”, from her first EP Girls Back Home. Her songs are catchy, but not in the sense that they have a repetitive hook that gets stuck in your head, it’s more that there are certain lines that you’ll hear and not stop thinking about for the next few days.

Her music is honest and captures feelings that are hard to describe but are widely felt. A particular favorite of mine comes from her song “Direct Address” from her upcoming full-length album; she has a line “I don’t believe in love at first sight. It’s hard enough for me to not fall in love with every person I see.” This is something that resonated with me on a personal level and drew me immediately into this artists discography.. There’s something about music, especially stripped back, folksy tunes like these that just make you feel less alone. That’s what Lucy’s music does for me, and I don’t think I’m the only one. Lucy is currently in the studio, recording that first full-length LP in Nashville I hinted at earlier and I cannot wait to hear it’s output. - Unrecorded

Lucy Dacus first entered our consciousness last month in an issue of Letters From Bandcamp, and today she’s shared a new single, No Scholar. Dacus utilizes one muted guitar to back up her impressive, melancholic croon, plus something a little unexpected. No Scholar features samples of Dacus’s voice from two weeks to two years old, culled from her family’s home videos. It’s a nice, intimate touch on a song that sounds pretty lonely. Listen below. - CMJ

Well not quite DC, but Ms. Dacus is a super talented indie folk songstress from my hometown of Richmond, VA.

It, it’s magic. The beauty seems almost effortless. Lucy Dacus is just spinning up her musical career but you’d never get that impression listening to her voice and these mesmerizing songs. The maturity and warmth in her delivery will leave you stunned.

Her debut EP, Girls Back Home, is an intimate experience. Trust me, you’ll be in a place of yearning and reflection once you’re on deep into your fifth or sixth listen. Finest Cursive and the title track immediately showcase the power and uniqueness of Lucy’s voice. Both tacks are chilling and soul etching in their mystique; perfect for a stroll through autumn leaves or a night in by the fire.

It’s fairly plain to see we have a star on our hands. Be sure to follow Lucy Dacus in any form possible so we can be assured more songs and albums just as lovely as the first go ’round. - Rarity In Form

If, by the time you get to Friday, you feel like you’ve had enough weird, complex synth carousels and thought-provoking diatribes by Radiohead zombies, this one’s for you. Lucy Dacus’s satisfying folk musings are like a gentle rainstorm cleaning the sonic chaos from your troubled little mind. But they’re also kind of sad, ’cause you hafta feel something, ya know? - CMJ