Forever is a Feeling: Lucy Dacus at Her Most Honest

Photo Credit: Geffen Records

Lucy Dacus has always made music on her own terms, and her latest album, Forever Is A Feeling, is no exception. It’s soft and emotionally rich, exploring themes of love, uncertainty, and reflection, in some of her most intimate songwriting so far. These aren’t love songs for everyone; they are specific, personal, and painfully honest. But even in that specificity, Dacus once again finds universality, inviting listeners into her world.

The album opens with Calliope Prelude, a brief—but tender—introduction that melts seamlessly into Big Deal, a song full of bittersweet longing. Dacus explores unrequited love with a rawness that makes it painfully relatable. More than anything, she seems to care about the other person’s happiness, even at the expense of her own. Given Dacus’s recent confirmation of her relationship with Boygenius bandmate Julien Baker, the song naturally invites speculation, though its themes are broad enough to resonate beyond her personal story.

Ankles shifts into a more playful and physical energy, making it one of the album’s most electrifying and emotionally layered tracks. The track balances cheeky desire with deeper emotional stakes – Dacus isn’t just craving intimacy, she’s yearning for something more meaningful. The lyric ‘angel of death’ may be a reference to Boygenius’s Not Strong Enough, while ‘one of three’ could reference her connection with Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. The song’s beautiful instrumentation, from twinkling strings to driving guitars, only amplifies its allure.

Longing is also explored in Limerance, which delves into the ache of being drawn to someone who doesn’t reciprocate. The lyrics capture the turmoil of wanting what isn’t good for you: ‘Why do I feel alive when I’m behaving my worst?‘ There’s a sense of self-destruction to it, but an understanding that love feels impossible to resist.

On Modigliani, Dacus is joined by Phoebe Bridgers on backing vocals, lending an added layer of warmth. Named after the artist known for his elongated portraits, the song reflects on identity and faith, as Dacus sings about carrying ‘[David’s] name until it fades,’ a reference to her religious upbringing. It’s a subtle, but powerful, meditation on the process of letting go.

Sonically, Talk is one of the album’s strongest moments, featuring rich guitar tones and thunderous drums. The song explores communication struggles in a relationship, with lines that suggest passion thrived in moments of uncertainty and distance: ‘Why was our best sex in hotels?‘ Here, Dacus presents herself as the one who takes rather than gives, asking, ‘Or did I drink you to the last drop?’ It’s an impactful shift in perspective, adding another layer to the album’s exploration of love and power dynamics.

For Keeps turns inward, reflecting on faith and impermanence. Dacus, who has distanced herself from religion, finds something sacred in her partner instead, singing, ‘I don’t believe in anything anymore, except you and me supremacy.‘ The idea that love can be both fragile, and holy, runs throughout the record, but it’s especially poignant here.

The album’s title track, Forever Is A Feeling, encapsulates the album’s core themes: love as something transient, but profoundly meaningful. ‘Forever’ may not be literal, but it’s a sensation Dacus understands deeply. The track features backing vocals from both Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, making it feel like not just a romantic declaration but also an ode to the deep bonds within their friendships.

Come Out builds on themes of transitions, old relationships evolving into new ones, while Best Guess embraces the uncertainty that comes with love. ‘You may not be an angel,’ she sings, possibly nodding to Not Strong Enough (‘Always an angel, never a god’), but there’s a comfort in this realisation. This album marks the first time Dacus explicitly uses female pronouns when singing about love, a small but significant step in her vulnerability as a songwriter.

The album closes with Lost Time, a song about distance and the fleeting nature of everything. ‘Nothing lasts forever, but let’s see how far we get,‘ Dacus sings, embracing love’s impermanence, rather than fearing it. As the music swells into an intense sonic climax, the album ends with a voice memo from the original demo – a raw, unpolished moment that brings everything full circle.

With Forever Is A Feeling, Lucy Dacus crafts an album that is intimate, yet effortlessly relatable. It’s a record about love in all its complexities: the excitement, the ache, and the quiet understanding that nothing is guaranteed. By leaning into her most intimate storytelling yet, Dacus doesn’t just share her world, she allows us to step inside it.

Unless otherwise stated, Photography & Text Copyright 2025 © Lauren Meaney/ADRENALINE Magazine.