Lucy Dacus - "Forever Is A Feeling" (2025)

Lucy Dacus is the first to return with fresh solo music following Boygenius' debut in 2023 significantly rocketed the singer / songwriter trio's exposure (comprised of Dacus, alongside Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker). I was already a fan of Bridgers, but following the Boygenius record I delved deeper into Dacus and Baker's solo work and I really took a liking to Lucy's raw and earnest lyrical style and very straightforward, vintage combination of singer / songwriter, indie rock and folk. While really emotionally resonant in places, her music is not flashy or particularly in your face, leaving it sounding quite versatile and timeless for me.

With Forever Is A Feeling, Lucy doubles down on this very lowkey, stripped back approach; swapping out the slightly more harder edged, fuzzy blues rock elements of her sound for gentle acoustic guitars and delicate chamber pop instrumentation. This is all to service the records narrative, which is very obviously about Dacus' blossoming romance with Baker following the closing out of the Boygenius era. The lyrics are sweet and saccharine, filled with the tepid excitement and hope alongside the worries and risk of falling for a friend. Following a short string prelude, the opening cut Big Deal tells the story of the growing feelings between the two, and that how Lucy was not prepared to take that risk and was surprised that Julien was. Set against gentle strumming and swooning strings, the song is beautifully bittersweet and really acts as the tone setter for the record.

The following track and lead single, Ankles, dives headfirst into euphoric jangle pop as Lucy indulges in fantasising about the exciting possibilities and potential futures this new relationship presents. The other teaser track, Best Guess, is similarly sweet and summery although takes a more grounded and pragmatic approach to the new relationship. Dacus frames the idea of romance as a best guess and that you never know if it will work out in the long run. It is an interesting idea for a song that is still incredibly positive and forward looking. Limerence was released as the B-side to Ankles and has a very different vibe. It's a slow and sparse, piano driven break up ballad. I'm not sure how it fits into the records narrative; whether this break up occurred immediately before Lucy's new relationship to Julien or sometime before. But lyrically, it is so dry and funny as Lucy describes falling out of limerence with this person while watching her friends chat and play video games. It's so nonchalant while also being quite heart aching, really. Lucy doesn't want to hurt this person, but she just doesn't love them anymore.

While it starts and ends quite well, the record's breezy and listless atmosphere unfortunately floats off into the clouds during the middle section. The subtle vocal approach and twee instrumentation sands off pretty much any tension or drive behind the tracks. Talk is on paper the heaviest track on the record, and while it does feature a couple of great lines, it is one of the most tepid interpretations of 90s alt rock I have heard in a long time. And its not like Lucy is out of her ball park here, there are plenty of tracks from her past couple of albums that go for this style and have way more bite to them. For Keeps through to Come Out just breeze by leaving little impact, and its only when Best Guess kicks off the final third of the album that I come back round to being engaged.

Bullseye is a jangly folky ballad with Hozier that I think works out. Hozier tends to dominate his duets, and with how tame the instrumentation is here that could've been the case on this one also; but he remains restrained and overall I think the song works out quite well. Most Wanted Man, similarly is a duet with Baker. The track initially presents itself as a twangy vintage rocker reminiscent of Revolver era Beatles, but as it progresses it morphs into more of a slacker rock jam with it's loose lo-fi guitar riffs and hazy vocals. You can really feel the energy and chemistry between the two on the song. Lost Time is an earnest and heartfelt slowburn to close out the album. The song starts as a gentle acoustic ballad, but slowly builds into a thick and heavy climax that once again brings back Julien for backing vocals.

Much like Lucy's previous records, Forever Is A Feeling doesn't rewrite the indie playbook - but is a solid, well written album that is a good time from start to finish. It does feel a little lightweight in places, so I don't think it tops Historian as her best. I still like it quite a bit and I think its a great record to have in rotation for the chill summer evenings or slow weekend mornings this year.

Top Tracks: Big Deal, Ankles, Limerence, Modigliani, Best Guess, Most Wanted Man

7/10

Fat Dog - "WOOF." (2024)

 

Fat Dog were first brought to my attention last summer when they were added to the lineup of a festival I was attending and featured on Fantano's weekly singles roundup within the same week. I decided to check out those singles, was thoroughly impressed and made a mental note to try and catch their set. The two songs they had released thus far were this insane collision of dance punk, traditional gypsy folk music and EBM with absolutely ridiculous, absurdist lyrics about having a fever dream where the protagonist becomes the king of slugs and the like. While I really liked what I heard, what truly cemented Fat Dog in my mind was catching their set and witnessing the raw, unrestrained energy that these songs have live.

The aforementioned King of the Slugs is this 7 minute surrealist journey into the mind of someone who is really loosing the plot. The thumping two step bass cranks up the tension during the opening verses which is all released in a manic chorus where vocalist Joe Love yells at the top of his voice "I'm the king of the slugs, bitch!" This the proceeds into a slow and drawn out instrumental section that slowly morphs into a bouncy polka bridge that builds and builds until the song just smacks you with one of the hardest breakdowns I have heard in years. Wither, similarly, hits you in the face with an incessant two step groove that never lets up as Love caterwauls "You better wither baby, before you die" over and over. Other album highlights include the other two singles, All the Same and Running. All the Same has a super heavy, almost dubstep-y groove and Running being one of the most intense moments on the record. Love play's the character of an exposed cult leader running away from those trying to seek justice. Flurries of stabbing synths compliment Love's increasingly deranged vocals. I managed to see the band a few weeks ago and Running closed out the set, and felt like the climax to the whole show.

While the highlights are frankly brilliant, WOOF. as a whole is quite a short album, and the over the top, tongue-in-cheek nihilism doesn't translate as well to some of the more restrained cuts on the record. Clowns and I am the King feel more like in jokes that aren't actually that clever compared to the sheer ridiculousness of the singles. That, combined with the fact that the first and last tracks function more as just intro and outro tracks for the album rather than fully fledged songs, leaves the record feeling rather lacking in substance when it comes to the lyrics and themes. But then again, its quite obvious that the point of the album is just to be a vehicle to perform these songs live, so I can hardly critique it too much for not having much to dig into on re-listen. 

The best bits of WOOF. are some of the most exciting music I heard in all of 2024, however as a whole album it feels a little underdeveloped and scant on deeper ideas. It is also short enough that it really doesn't outstay its welcome either. And as a live band, Fat Dog are absolutely brilliant and I would recommend anyone who likes a moshy gig to go see them.

Top Tracks: Wither, King of the Slugs, All the Same, Running

7/10