Lucy Dacus (Photo by Ebru Yildiz)
For hometown heroine Lucy Dacus, it’s all about songwriting. “I don’t really care about [musical] genre,” the 26-year-old singer-composer says.
“I don’t even really care about any particular sounds in general. I really care about songs.” For her third album, “Home Video,” the Matador Records artist takes a melodic dive into her past, with autobiographical tunes (“First Time” and “Double Dog Dare”) that seem more detailed and contemplative in comparison to her distorted 2018 release, “Historian,” which launched her to indie-rock fame. “It’s all about growing up in Richmond and the formative friendships that I had that made me what I am today,” she says of “Home Video,” which releases on June 25. “It’s a little less pointed at the masses and a little more pointed at myself.” The Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School graduate’s new tour starts here in town with two sold-out nights at The National on Sept. 10 and 11, alongside Boygenius bandmate Julien Baker. “Richmond stuff will always come first,” she says.
Richmond magazine: How does songwriting work for you? Does it start with the words?
Lucy Dacus: Yeah, lyrics first every time, along with melody. Usually, how I write is that I’ll be on a walk and then sing to myself, figure out the lyrics and melody, and then get home and figure out the guitar part.
RM: Have you studied songwriting at all? Song forms, theory?
Dacus: I’ve had, like, zero musical training. I would like to know more, even if just to find out what rules I’m already following. I have rules in my head for what makes a good song. But I don’t know if it corresponds with a technique or if it’s different.
I don’t even know that much about guitar. I play in this open tuning to make it really easy to find stuff, so I don’t even know what chords I’m playing half the time. I just search for the sound on the guitar, and that’s enough for me.
RM: I know the music comes naturally to you, but does the rest of all this — the interviews, the constant attention?
Dacus: I’ve had to learn how to deal with it, and I don’t really feel like I’m that good at it yet. But it’s happening, and I try not to let it freak me out. The thing I try to remember when I’m doing interviews is that [I’m] very lucky that anybody cares. ... It’s a privilege to be highlighted. But it’s not so much a privilege that I have to give everything away. ... It’s been a learning process to figure out what I’m willing to share and what needs to stay sacred in my life.
RM: Your songs can be confessional. Do you think that invites folks to freely invade your space?
Dacus: I think that people read into the songs [what] is meaningful to them and can sometimes confuse my work with my personhood, all with good intentions. But it’s been freaky, especially in Richmond, because it’s a smaller city. I think people have hyped me up beyond what I’m worth, honestly [laughs], and it can be kind of scary.
RM: I hope it doesn’t make you feel estranged from your own hometown.
Dacus: I think I feel so known [in Richmond], I feel so understood, that occasionally I just need that distance to figure out what I think about myself. So many people in Richmond have an opinion about me at this point. But Richmond will always be home. Whenever I’m there, it feels like part of my body. ... It really feels like a part of me in a big way, and I’m grateful for that.
