Lucy Dacus’ previous album, Home Video, explored childlike whimsy. In contrast, her fourth full-length release, Forever Is A Feeling, is decidedly more mature.

The sonic textures are richer, more exuberant, while the lyrics pore over the quotidian of Dacus’ late twenties to unerring effect, encompassing pin-stripe suits and board rooms, morning crosswords and continental breakfasts, domestic stillness and paved sidewalks. Together, they weave a tapestry that mixes transformation with self-acceptance.

The narrative journey sees an evolution from uncertainty to conviction. While the piano ballad ‘Limerence’ recounts how the self is numbed with everyday distractions and psychoactive potions, ‘Ankles’ delivers an undeniably confident and candid anthem of queer tenderness.

Situated between these cathartic numbers are Dacus’ observations on life and love. Highlight ‘Come Out’ finds the singer exploring a new city after a break-up. Watching an elderly couple sit comfortably in silence, she begins to grapple with the longing for companionship: “I used to think that’d be the worst/ To grow old and run out of words / Now I have seen some incredible things / I could never describe if I tried.”

Nestled beneath these narratives is some remarkably apt music that alternates between piano balladry, acoustic folk and indie-rock. It’s an album that never sacrifices melody for the sake of plot. Instead, they feed off and enhance one another.

8/10

Out now