Since her arrival on the scene in 2016, Lucy Dacus has been a breath of fresh air in the world of indie rock singer-songwriters. The poetry of her lyrics and the way they’re brought to life by her warm alto is a powerful weapon and last year’s masterful Historian, along with boygenius the collaborative EP she released with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, showed that she is quickly learning how to use it with laser-guided precision to deadly effect. It’s no surprise, then, that she’s picked up quite a few new fans of late and on Wednesday night they came out in force to fill Jersey City’s White Eagle Hall on March 20th and were treated to a cutting performance from a talent coming fully into her prime.
Dacus and her band have never been the flashiest performers, opting instead for a slightly more pared-back approach that allows the gentlest moments to hit clearly and gives the biggest moments the grandeur they deserve. This proved especially true for a song like “Nonbeliever”, which began with every subtlety of its melody on display and every lyric hanging in the air and ended with guitarist Jacob Blizard taking the lead as the band built up to a crescendoing outro. Similarly, on “Night Shift”, a Historian stand-out and possibly one of the greatest breakup songs of the decade, the band kept their distance, giving Dacus the spotlight until it was time to open the floodgates for the song’s triumphant finale.
Over the course of just over an hour, Lucy and her band breezed through almost all of the cuts from Historian, including powerful, sing-along-inspiring renditions of favorites like “Addictions” and “Timefighter”, alongside a handful of cuts from her first album and even a pair of covers. “I Don’t Want to Be Funny Anymore”, the single that garnered Dacus her first rush of attention, made for one of the set’s most light-hearted moments, especially when Lucy and her bass player engaged in some synchronized dance moves during the guitar solo, while her version of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose”, full of charging guitars and snare drum rolls, sat so comfortably within her wheelhouse that without the French lyrics you might be tricked into thinking the tune was her own, and during her encore she brought out opener Fenne Lily to duet with her on a loose cover of (Sandy) Alex G’s “Bobby”. “That was cute, wasn’t it?” she exclaimed afterward with a smile stretched across her face, “I feel like I’m blushing!”
The show was bookended by two new songs, both of which Lucy played alone on stage. The opening number, “Fool’s Gold”, gave immediate promise for whatever’s next down the pipeline for Dacus. “I threw the party, so I could stay put” she sang, displaying yet again her ability to write lyrics that won’t leave your mind and sing them in a way that goes straight to your heart.
It was the untitled closing song, though, that showed just how directly Dacus has learned to wield her lyrical weapon. After a curious disclaimer that she doesn’t condone violence of any kind, she unfurled what is by far her most cutting and devastating song to date about a close friend’s relationship with their abusive father. The song’s refrain saw Dacus offer to take things into her own hands, singing “I would kill him/If you let me” with the kind of restraint and pain that anyone who’s seen someone they love deeply hurting is sure to know. It was an immensely powerful and haunting song to go out on, which means it’s working exactly as intended. Here’s to hearing what Lucy Dacus does next.
