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. Like the fabled plane of songs, Historian 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.
This is such a strong follow-up statement that it renders even the slightest hint of the proverbial “sophomore slump” null and void. Historian is one of the first truly great albums of 2018.
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. Lucy Dacus strikes peerlessly at the core of our emotions at once with wit and gravity, loftiness and plain-spokenness.
Historian 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.
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.
As Historian adds new elements to Dacus’ music—strings, horns, vocal effects, and spoken word samples appear here alongside guitars, drums, and bass—it also finds the Virginia songwriter plumbing new thematic depths and broadening her stage.
Where her first album was an exploration, this one is a proclamation.
For all its keen lyricism, Historian ultimately floats on a sea of fuzz, rich with small melodic details and the sort of glorious guitar heroics that indie rock is often much too modest for.
Historian fulfills all the promises of 2015's No Burden.
Even the less bristling episodes feel luminous and ecstatic, but mostly the magnificent Historian thrives on tension.
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.
The only gripe here is that the odd longueur makes Historian solid rather than spectacular.
On its own, Historian is a solid indie rock record: enjoyable, though not particularly memorable. It’s as though Dacus’s best parts have been filtered through a focus group – just imagine what it could have been with the patina scraped off.
Even more exquisite than her first, Lucy Dacus' second studio album, Historian, is a triumphant return for one of rock's most promising and exciting figures out now.
Just like No Burden, Historian is full of exceptionally well-written and personal pieces of songwriting, something that Lucy is capable of creating, all while exuding a sense of humor and wisdom I have yet to see elsewhere in my music-listening endeavors. Everything I loved about her first album is expanded upon even further here: ... read more
Had no idea what to expect from this album, and from what I heard on here, I really loved a lot about this album. I really loved a lot of moments on here, especially the opening track “Night Shift”. Holy shit, that opening track was phenomenal. However, I feel like how in that track right at the beginning kinda makes the other tracks kinda underwhelming in comparison, even if they are still all pretty damn great. Other than that, I did really enjoy this album quite a lot. Its pretty ... read more
sooo i listened to night shift a lot in 2023 so much that it was my top 3 most stream song of the year but never really went into her discography out of that but I had the time now while working on some project and I do not regret. I think the worst song are next of kin that just didn't click with me, and pillar of truth that I find maybe too long for not much. I feel like the song could have been shortened and I would have liked it because the end did get to me but was like all of that for ... read more
7/10
good
Fav tracks: Night Shift, Addictions, Nonbeliever, Yours & Mine, Timefighter, Next of Kin, Pillar of Truth
1 | Night Shift 6:31 | 97 |
2 | Addictions 3:24 | 89 |
3 | The Shell 4:37 | 85 |
4 | Nonbeliever 3:40 | 89 |
5 | Yours & Mine 5:14 | 85 |
6 | Body to Flame 3:05 | 87 |
7 | Timefighter 5:48 | 91 |
8 | Next of Kin 4:06 | 85 |
9 | Pillar of Truth 7:14 | 92 |
10 | Historians 3:56 | 83 |
#1 | / | Paste |
#4 | / | NPR Music |
#6 | / | Digital Trends |
#6 | / | The Wild Honey Pie |
#9 | / | The Key |
#13 | / | Earbuddy |
#13 | / | Stereogum |
#16 | / | Thrillist |
#17 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#17 | / | Rolling Stone |