Albums to watch

Historian

Lucy Dacus

Historian

Second album from the Richmond, Virginia indie rock artist produced by Collin Pastore

ADM rating[?]

7.8

Label
Matador
UK Release date
02/03/2018
US Release date
02/03/2018
  1. 9.0 |   The 405

    Historian is a complete album, cavernous in its emotional depths and regally sophisticated in its songwriting, yet palatably relatable at the point of contact
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  2. 9.0 |   Earbuddy

    Historian easily enters the conversation as one of 2018’s early best albums
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  3. 9.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Historian is one of the first truly great albums of 2018
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  4. 9.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    You know you have a classic on your hands when, after the umpteenth spin, you start looking for the tour dates, and try to reason your way to a gig
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  5. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    As impressive as No Burden was on its own merits, independent of and regardless of its creator’s youth, inexperience, and slapdash conception, Historian is a monolith of American songwriting
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  6. 8.7 |   Paste Magazine

    It’s a rare artist who has a voice so compelling, and rarer still are the ones who learn so early on how to use it. At 23, Dacus has already made a career album with Historian, and she’s really only just getting started.
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  7. 8.6 |   Gig Soup

    'Grandeur' is the only term worthy of describing one of 2018's forerunners for album of the year
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  8. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    Historian evokes the modest, homely impression of an old family photo encased in a beautifully adorned rustic frame
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  9. 8.1 |   Pitchfork

    On her second album, the Virginia songwriter doesn’t merely reckon with loss; she tells a story about the way people carry each other through time
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  10. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    It's an intricate record, one filled with peaks and valleys, high points and low
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  11. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Even the less bristling episodes feel luminous and ecstatic, but mostly the magnificent Historian thrives on tension. Print edition only

  12. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Fulfills all the promises of 2015's No Burden. Print edition only

  13. 8.0 |   NME

    US songwriter Lucy Dacus bears her heart, soul and mega riffs in this ballsy, beautiful guitar record
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  14. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    The 23-year-old singer-songwriter's second album is a uniquely powerful mix of conversational detail and glorious guitar heroics
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  15. 7.5 |   A.V. Club

    Historian 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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  16. 7.0 |   All Music

    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
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  17. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Lucy Dacus has here achieved what she set out to do, marking her place as a brutally honest songwriter who isn’t afraid to go to the darker sides of humanity to find her truth
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  18. 6.0 |   Q

    Imaginative - if meandering - opus from US singer-songwriter. Print edition only

  19. 6.0 |   Record Collector

    These are anthemic, intelligent pop songs, the kind that the Taylor Swifts of this world would hand over their back teeth for
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  20. 5.0 |   No Ripcord

    There are derivative elements on Historian, probably another side effect of relinquishing production to the pros
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