Credit: Elizabeth Weinberg
Ahead of American Independence Day, Lucy Dacus has released new single ‘Forever Half Mast’, which can be heard HERE. The third instalment of Dacus’ 2019 holiday song series, ‘Forever Half Mast’ follows her Valentine’s Day-inspired cover of ‘La Vie En Rose’, and original ode to Mother’s Day and Taurus Season, ‘My Mother & I’. The songs were highlighted by publications including The Sunday Times, MOJO, Operah Magazine and Esquire, and received plays from Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music, and Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2. Still to come in Lucy’s 2019 singles series are tracks tied to Springsteen’s Birthday, Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s, with a physical EP of the collection coming in the fall.
In ‘Forever Half Mast’, the twang of a steel guitar compliments Lucy’s gentle strumming and lends a distinctly ‘American’ sound to the song — yet the lyrics convey an attitude towards her home country that is decidedly more ambivalent. Lucy drew inspiration for the song from her experiences touring in Europe, where she was starkly confronted by the complexities of her American identity, and by what it means to be a proud American in these trying times.
In Lucy’s words, “There is a daily dissonance one endures as an American wherein much of our joy is counterweighted by shame, where much of our pride lives in tandem with injustice and suffering. ‘Forever Half Mast’ is about confronting this unavoidable culpability as an American citizen and consumer. Instead of allowing this guilt to paralyze us, we should try to let it influence us in positive ways”.
Praise for previous songs in the 2019 series:
“Startlingly candid, touching exploration of body image, inheritance, individuation and astrology” –The Sunday Times
“One of 2018’s strongest newcomers” –MOJO
“Gorgeous stuff, the lyrics are pure poetry” -DIVA
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