By: Jayben Favila
Home video by Lucy Dacus has been a suprise album for me for 2021. With the past year of music giving us various projects either rushed to meet the demand for people staying at home or being COVID19 focused, 'Home Video' has been an elegant surprise of an album with its nostalgic lyricism and dreamy instrumentals.
For context, Lucy Dacus is an indie singer-songwriter hailing from Richmond Virginia, and has two acclaimed albums under her belt “No Burden” and “Historian”. Dacus has made a name for herself in the indie rock scene with her two albums in addition to her collaborations with Phoebe Bridgers and Julia Baker with their band “Boy Genius” showing the range of work within her music career. 'Home Video' came as a surprise with fans claiming a few tracks were teased in 2019 leading up to a 2020 release, but with the pandemic, Dacus opted to release the album this year.
“Home Video” focuses as an autobiography of Dacus’s childhood living in Virginia, lyrically focusing on the themes of young teen romance and coming of age seen in songs such as “Hot and Heavy” and “The First Time.” It's paired with religious undertones Dacus experience of attending Christian Youth Camps as a young girl with songs such as “VBS” with the opening line “In the summer of '07 I was sure I'd go to heaven” the first line of the song.
I was personally surprised with this album, I heard 'Hot and Heavy' as a single from a close friend with the song instantly catching me with its nostalgic lyricism with the line “You were always stronger than people suspected, Underestimated and overprotected” on “Hot and Heavy” which gives the feeling of a call back to early childhood being sheltered and coming of age which is a common theme throughout the album.
My top songs from this album consist of 'Hot and Heavy', 'The First Time', 'Brando', 'Partner in Crime', and 'VBS.'
When it comes to the vinyl itself, 'Home Video' is pressed on various vinyl variants starting from standard black, indie exclusive clear limited to 500, cloudy blue and pink vinyl limited to 500 with 250 being singed, red and blue nebula, Spotify blue exclusive, and summer sky edition which is the version I have. This viny is so gorgeous with the swirls inside the vinyl and the mock-up photo of it does not do justice compared to seeing it in person, overall, it fits the album's aesthetic perfectly.
If you want to get your own copy of home video locally Pop music Toronto and Sonic boom have the clear vinyl pressing for sale and the same goes for any participating indie record stores, check out the album on all streaming services.