Description

This Richmond singer-songwriters just-released No Burden is one of 2016s best indie rock debuts Rolling Stone

Lucy Dacus No Burden is an uncommonly warm indie rock record. Lead guitar lines pour in like slow columns of sunlight, and Dacus voice itself is a comforting blur Pitchfork

Her power-pop songs are naturally rootsy, embodying an authentic Southern soul yet her voice transcends her locale and her age, a confident blend of Sharon Van Ettens aching power, Jenny Lewis cool drawl and Courtney Barnetts bright wit NPR ? Richmond, VA-based songwriter Lucy Dacus is the latest addition to the renowned Matador Records roster. The 21 year olds critically acclaimed debut album, No Burden, is released on CD and LP via Matador.

Lucy Dacuss No Burden is full of surprises sharp lyrical observations, playful turns of musical phrase, hooks thatll embed themselves in your frontal lobe for days. However, the most surprising thing about this album might be the fact that its a debut; it has a keen sense of self about it and it nearly glows from the self-possession held by the woman at its core.

Dacus grew up in Richmond; she was adopted at a young age, an experience that informed her curious, openhearted songwriting. When my parents were explaining what adoption was which was very early on in my childhood they always said that my birthmother thought I was worthwhile even though she couldnt be my mom, she says. And so from essentially infancy, I was taught that life was innately worthwhile because a bunch of people had worked together to set me up with one.

Dacus started playing around Richmond while in college, opening for local acts and eventually meeting Jacob Blizard, a guitarist who invited her to make a record for a college project of his. No Burden, which originally came out at the start of 2016 on the EggHunt Records label, opens with the forthright, almost brutally honest I Dont Wanna Be Funny Anymore, the last song Dacus wrote before the albums day-long recording session at Starstruck Studios in Nashville. Dacus delivers scalpel-sharp observations about resisting pigeonholing over chunky guitars, ticking off ideals of femininity and youth until the tracks not-quite-resolution.

The rest of No Burden, which was produced by Collin Pastore, puts Dacus voice centre stage, allowing the glinting poetry of her lyrics to shine even more brightly. Trust, which Dacus wrote in late 2013, showcases her alone with her guitar, her faint vibrato floating over strummed chords as she sings of self-redemption. The diptych Dream State and Familiar Place, which revolve around Dacus repeating Without you, I am surely the last of our kind / Without you, I am surely the last of my kind, capture disappointment and loss in a jaw-dropping way; the music trembles around her while her voice stays steady, anticipating whatever might come next.

No Burden is a forthright, disarmingly catchy statement. While its a sterling debut it only hints at the potential possessed by this passionate, thoughtful young woman.

LP includes digital download code.