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Mar 2, 2018As good as “No Burden” was, Historian is better: songs like short stories; sneakily hard-hitting arrangements; dreaminess and catharsis, often in the space of a few verses.
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Mar 8, 2018Toning down her wry wit and wrapping her songs around the common theme of reckoning with and rebuilding from loss, Historian offers a more cohesive testament to Dacus’s exceptional songwriting.
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Mar 2, 2018Historian is a complete album, cavernous in its emotional depths and regally sophisticated in its songwriting, yet palatably relatable at the point of contact. It’s a work of perfectly realised ambition in which anyone who’s ever waded the swamp of heartache can recognise themselves.
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Mar 2, 2018Historian feels like a universe that exists before time, somewhere to reach up to when you need to express something greater than yourself. And Dacus shows us the way, with grace and patience and the quiet confidence of writers twice her age.
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Mar 2, 2018At 23, Dacus has already made a career album with Historian, and she’s really only just getting started.
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MagnetApr 17, 2018Historian is another triumph. [No. 150, p.51]
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Feb 28, 2018Initially, the album's impressive scope of subject matter enveloped within can feel a bit daunting, overpowering even. But Dacus is up to the task to guide you through: her feathery delivery and laser-focused wordplay keep the listener firmly on notice.
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Mar 6, 2018That gradual unfolding is one of Historian’s many delights. It’s not an easy album to wear out. It lasts, and it should, given that so many of its lyrics pick at time, and the way time condenses around deep emotional attachments to other people.
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Mar 5, 2018Dacus and her band sound emboldened, confident, like kids who are thrilled they still have something to prove.
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Mar 2, 2018The 10 track Historian is far bigger, meatier beast than its predecessor. Recorded in Nashville, this is a rock’n’roll album with deep understanding of pop melody but layered up with bold lyrics which disarm you as much as they connect with you.
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Mar 2, 2018Even as Lucy deals with massive topics including death, hope, and major life transitions, she offers listeners entry points back into their own worlds, all while strengthening her already taut grip on rustling, soul-blemished rock.
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MojoFeb 28, 2018Even the less bristling episodes feel luminous and ecstatic, but mostly the magnificent Historian thrives on tension. [Apr 2018, p.94]
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UncutFeb 28, 2018Historian fulfills all the promises of 2015's No Burden. [Apr 2018, p.26]
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Feb 28, 2018It's an intricate record, one filled with peaks and valleys, high points and low. It gets a little messy at times, but it finds beauty in it all.
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Mar 2, 2018Historian stumbles occasionally, with some songs taking a while to get up the hill, but it’s rewarding because it carries such weight and commands such attention.
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Mar 2, 2018Ultimately, the forte passages don't encroach on the songwriting, as they underline emotion, but they do, at times, step on Dacus' voice, when she's clouded by high-volume accompaniment or even vocal processing. Thankfully, those moments are brief and rare, allowing her lyrics and expressive sense of melody to shine.
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Mar 2, 2018Her engaging lyrics remain her true strength. But in her quest to perfect this mission statement, the urgent spark present in her debut has dimmed just a little.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 34 out of 39
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Mixed: 4 out of 39
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Negative: 1 out of 39
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May 13, 2018On her newest venture 'Historian', Lucy Dacus reaches peak songwriting potential, rivaling the sounds of Regina Spektor and A Fine Frenzy.