Lucy Dacus has a talent for making it feel like she’s speaking directly to you in everything she sings, and it’s no different on these latest releases. Covering Carole King’s classics “Home Again” and “It’s Too Late,” the singer puts in a particularly impressive performance on the former. She sings it so personally, you would have thought it was something she wrote herself, with her husky voice embracing the sweetness of the words; the lifts on “Snow is cold, rain is wet / Chills my soul right to the marrow” make the hairs on your arm stand up, and when she sings, “I won’t be happy ‘til I see you alone again / ‘Til I’m home again and feeling right,” you automatically believe her. The guitar cushions the weight of such words, delicate, yet strong underneath it all. And King’s music does feel like home to Dacus, as she says, “When I listened to Tapestry from my mom’s CD collection, I was young enough that it didn’t register as good or bad—it just defined what music sounded like to me, and it’s still a foundation of how I understand songwriting.”
The combination with “It’s Too Late” makes the release a two-song short story, both caught in the throes of love’s unhappiness, just in different ways. The song is anchored by upbeat bass, and starts off with a defined note of tension. It’s easy to picture a little Lucy dancing along to this song as a child as the chorus kicks in, though. The iconic lines, “And it’s too late baby, now it’s too late / Though we really did try to make it,” are emphasized with pronounced harmonies, complemented by a basic, solid guitar solo. Of course Dacus sings these songs like they were already within her—she says of King’s songwriting, “Her work feels like a part of my DNA and I’m grateful for it.”
Listen to Dacus’ covers below, and find her 2016 Daytrotter session and tour dates further down.
Lucy Dacus Tour Dates:
September
29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall #
30 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall #
October
01 – Columbia, MD @ All Things Go Festival (SOLD OUT)
03 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz #
05 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre #
06 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall #
07 – Orlando, FL @ Beacham Theater #
08 – Miami Beach, FL @ North Beach Band Shell #
10 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder #
12 – New Orleans, LA @ The Civic Theatre #
13 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn (SOLD OUT) #
14 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall #
15 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern #
November
04 – Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall ^
05 – Calgary, AB @ Palace Theatre ^
08 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre ^
09 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre ^
11 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater (SOLD OUT) ^
12 – Boise, ID @ Egyptian Theatre ^
13 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre ^
15 – Healdsburg, CA @ Little Saint (SOLD OUT) ^
17 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^
18 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ^
19 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park ^
(# = with Crooks & Nannies)
(^ = with Haley Heynderickx)
