If It's Too Loud...

Three years ago Lucy Dacus' Historian was my #1 album of the year, so I obviously heavily anticipated its follow up. Home Video comes in at #7 for me this year. The new album leans a little bit more towards the pop side of things than Dacus' previous albums did, but there is still a lot of her indie roots shining through on this one. Right from the album's opener, "Hot & Heavy," you know that this is going to be different. It's a dance song, but with an oddly hypnotic quality. There are also some gorgeous and powerful ballads on Home Video , especially "Christine" and the stunningly captivating "Thumbs." This album has catapulted Lucy Dacus from mid-sized clubs to much larger clubs and small theaters, and I'm willing to bet by the end of the summer she'll be headlining smaller amphitheaters. And very deservingly so. Songs of note: "Hot & Heavy," "Cartwheel," "Thumbs," and "Brando"

Photo by Marin Leong We've been huge fans of Lucy Dacus here (as we all should be), and her Home Video  from earlier this year is sure to be a strong contender for our album of the year. "Thumbs" is an incredibly strong song from that album with its ultra-bare bones sound and almost non-existent instrumentation. Dacus has just released a new version of the song, "Thumbs Again." This reworking is a full band version, but if this was the version we heard on the album we'd still be describing it as bare bones. The song is a little more fleshed out here, and is most likely closer to the current live version her Dacus' full band. Despite the added instrumentation, "Thumbs Again" doesn't lose any of the intimacy from the original "Thumbs." You can watch the video for "Thumbs Again" below. You can get your copy of Home Video here. For more on Lucy Dacus, check out the artist's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the vid...

Photo by Ebru Yildiz It's going to be hard for Home Video to compare to Lucy Dacus' 2018 album Historian. That was my favorite album of 2018, and possibly my favorite album since Lady Lamb's Ripely Pine in 2013. Not only was Historian great, but it had the benefit of new artist excitement for me. But if Home Video has songs like "Brando," it might end up being this year's Historian. "Brando" is more of a dance song than anything off Historian , and usually pop or dance songs don't work for me. "Brando," though? It's great. It has that great feel of Dacus' earlier music while being a disco-lite dance song. Compared to the heaviness of some of her more recent songs, this one is a breath of fresh air. Lucy Dacus says of the new song: “ ‘Brando’ refers to a very dramatic friend I had in high school whose whole personality was the media he consumed .  He showed me a lot of amazing movies and music, but I think he was more interested ...

Photo by Ebru Yildiz Until I read Lucy Dacus' explanation, I had no idea VBS stood for Vacation Bible School. I'm not sure I know anyone who went to one, although I do remember being jealous that all my friends were going to CCD together and I wasn't (this was before anyone told me what it was). "VBS" as a song starts off as a midtempo folk adjacent indie rock song. Dacus' voice, as always, is going to be what draws you in. There's just something about her delivery that makes every single song feel intimate and like she's singing just to you. "VBS" may just be the greatest example of that phenomenon. It feels like she's just sitting with you and only you. Just that alone would make this song great. And then a burst of guitar and feedback kicks in and makes this a Best of 2021 contender. In a press conference, Lucy Dacus explains the new song: “VBS means vacation bible school, and I went to tons of them. It's where Christian parents se...

Photo by  Ebdizru Yil We're rabid fanboys of Lucy Dacus here at If It's Too Loud..., so we couldn't be more thrilled by her latest single. "Hot & Heavy" starts off in the trademark Dacus fashion: starting off quiet and contemplative, and then slowly building into a giant indie rock/folk epic. As the new song starts, that is what it sounds like it is building to, until "Hot & Heavy" takes an unexpected turn into more of a pop sound. If anything, it sounds more like something from her 2019 covers project than it does 2018's Historian. But, as someone who tends to reject pop, this is a welcome turn that keeps just enough of the indie rock and folk sensibilities of her previous releases to keep me enthralled. Lucy Dacus says of the new song: “ I thought I was writing ‘Hot & Heavy’ about an old friend, but I realized along the way that it was just about me outgrowing past versions of myself.  So much of life is submitting to change and saying ...