Lucy Dacus. Photo/Supplied
Lucy Dacus is a contradiction. One of the new breed of indie singer songwriters, her sound is at once fresh, original and exciting but also authentic and rooted in musical history.
Debut album
No Burden
is relatively short at nine songs and 35 minutes, but it's packed with class.
Dacus' strength may be her voice, which has been described by one critic as a cross between Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf, but there's an attitude to this music, a la Courtney Barnett or Car Seat Headrest, that makes it compelling.
So despite the rock guitars that drive the album forward, it's the lyrics and turns of phrase that hit home, those that stay with you like "Without you I am surely the last of my kind" - a line that appears in paired bookend tracks Dream State ... and ... Familiar Place.
Or try this one for size from Troublemaker Doppelganger: "I wanna live in a world where I can keep my doors wide open, but who knows what'd get in and what'd get out?", a chilling yet thought-provoking line accompanied by oddly uplifting harmonies and instrumentation.
With a warm voice, wry observations and , Dacus, a 21-year-old Richmond, Virginia, native, comes across as immensely likeable.
"I've got plenty of affection I'd be glad to show you sometime," she sings on Green Eyes, Red Face.
No Burden is worthy of yours.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Kem Ormond discovers the rich history behind The Coach House Museum in Feilding.