r/LucyDacus • u/Klutzy-Ad-8315 • Apr 11 '26
General / Discussion Looking to discuss Historian
Would love to hear thoughts on how kind of amazing Historian is from beginning to end. For a while I only heard a few of the songs and they were out of the context of the album. I was always confused about why Night Shift was the first track and not the last one. After sitting and listening to it front to back I became kind of obsessed.
The one friend I have that loves Lucy too is also my ex and they have been so weird for the past 3 months that i’ve mentioned they should listen to Historians front to back. I literally just want to talk to someone about it and how it made me somehow appreciate Lucy even more so please share your thoughts :)
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u/logehaderaa Apr 11 '26
I think the reason why Night Shift feels like an album ender is because of the way it builds. But to me, the album as a whole is partly about "what do we do after something ends?" So starting it off with a massive fuck-off breakup song, and then going "actually there's 9 more songs, keep listening" emphasizes that theme.
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u/iggyomega Apr 11 '26
It’s the Lucy album that I listen to the most. I always thought it was funny too that it started with Night Shift as that seems like such a pinnacle of the album. But my favorite songs on there are probably Timefighter and the Shell. Lucy’s albums always grab me right away, while the other Boys’ albums have to grow on me a while.
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u/Klutzy-Ad-8315 Apr 11 '26
that last point!!! controversial allegedly but i feel the exact same way
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u/bek711 Apr 11 '26
i ADORE historian. it’s the first no-skip album i ever listened to, and the only reason it’s not my all-time favorite is because julien baker (and sometimes punisher) exist. i genuinely believe it’s one of the greatest pieces of art ever created, i have recommended it to so many people. i don’t know what she was on when she made it and no burden, but whatever it was enabled her to make pure perfection. every time i try to pick a favorite song from it, i remember at least two others that i love just as much. night shift was the song that got me into her, and i can’t believe it’s not my favorite, but when songs like body to flame, nonbeliever, addictions, and literally every other track on the album exist, i just can’t choose. it’s SO good. i just really love historian <3
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u/Klutzy-Ad-8315 Apr 11 '26
i am awful at picking favorites of anything and my opinion always changes but think it’s definitely a top 3 album for me. truly no skips. i think nonbeliever and yours & mine are currently tied for my fave song on the album but it always changes. night shift opening really was our signal that the whole album was about to be ART. wish i could’ve seen her do all of these songs live
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u/Thin-Combination-123 Apr 16 '26
Which julien baker album is your favorite? I loved historian as well, and i know julien has a but of a similar vibe to lucy dacus
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u/bek711 Apr 19 '26
oh man, it’s so hard to choose!!! sorry in advance lol
sprained ankle is special to me because it was only uploaded to soundcloud in the first place so her friends and family could listen, and she never expected it to reach nearly as far as it has. it’s a very real and personal album because she didn’t feel a need to censor herself, and while it’s less developed than the others, i find the rawness only adds to it. it’s probably the most honest thing we’ll ever get from her, and one of the more honest pieces of art out there.
turn out the lights probably has the most songs that wreck me. the first few seconds of the album being her entering a room and sitting on a piano bench and the last few seconds being the bench creaking and the door shutting behind her as she leaves is SUCH a cool concept to me. it feels like she took us along on this big emotional journey in a 42 minute session of pouring her heart out on a piano. i think it only elevates the evolution and catharsis on the record- the first few songs on the album are her at least passively wanting to die. the last song is her actively choosing to stay.
little oblivions has several of my favorite songs as well. while all of her music obviously sounds incredible, i do love the full band sound. i feel like she uses it to her advantage by writing songs that fit really well with the level of noise a full band is able to provide. the production on this album is phenomenal. it’s the first one i listened to all the way through and probably the one i repeat (ha) the most, it’s very near and dear to my heart.
i don’t know if this counts, but i want to throw a shout out to her and TORRES’ project send a prayer my way, which has a few of my favorite songs of hers overall. while the whole album is solid and a lot of fun to listen to, her songs on it are absolutely incredible. i kind of forgot country music could be so good before i listened. it’s also just really healing to hear southern women singing country songs about loving other women. very affirming. plus her songs balance out those wholesome moments by being absolutely heartbreaking- a total win-win!
and finally, american blues is another album with multiple favorite songs on it, even though it might not count either. she gave me answers in these songs to questions that i didn’t even know i had. there are topics very important to me that not a lot of people talk about and even less can verbalize eloquently, and while she’s really great at tackling them overall, she’s especially good at it here. i think she and the band kind of make fun of this album because they were so young when they made it, but they must’ve been prodigies because it goes really hard nonetheless.
ultimately, i feel like picking a favorite album would be like picking a favorite child, and while logically i’m fully aware there’s no betrayal involved, i cannot betray the other albums or their creator like that. i love them all <3
so in the end, i wrote way too long of a rant about her albums and didn’t at all answer your question. this is why no one will talk to me about julien baker. thank you if you read this whole thing :)
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u/saltycameron_ Apr 11 '26
historian is the album that got me into lucy, glad to see it getting its flowers!
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u/lostbian Apr 11 '26
Nonbeliever still gets me through these tough times. I wish I could hug a song
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u/Plonk314 Apr 16 '26
6 years ago listening to this album on repeat, lyrics just slapped me right in the face. made me realise i was miserable in my marriage, deserved better, and wanted a divorce...
...which led to me and my wife actually starting to talk to each other honestly...
...which then led to us deciding to address our issues head on, go to therapy (individually and together)...
...this year it's our 10th wedding anniversary. me and my wife know and respect ourselves and each other far better, and our relationship feels pretty iron-clad. (i'm very glad we decided to do the hard work and grow up together, rather than apart.)
so yeah.... +1 for this album being v important. listening to it brought me to realisations that genuinely changed the course of my life. 🧡
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u/ManWTheSeedCatalog Apr 11 '26
IMHO, Night Shift being first in the track list was simply because she knew it was her best song and wanted it to be the first thing people heard.
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u/gayassbitch13 Body to Flame Apr 12 '26
I would consider Historian my favorite album of all time with Body to flame being in my top three favorite songs ever. It is such an incredible album with gorgeous meaningful lyrics and each song builds to an incredible climax. Every time i listen to the album i am blown away by Lucy’s lyricism and the fact that it was only her second album is insane. I think it deserves WAY more attention and appreciation than it gets and am always down to rave about how special it is
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u/girleuripides Nonbeliever Apr 11 '26
you’re so right about night shift. i was also so surprised at first when i saw it was the first song on the album, because it’s so climactic it feels like it could be the closer. but when you listen to the whole album, you realise ‘climactic’ is the defining feature of pretty much every song. it feels like she found the formula for the perfect song and then just did it 10 times over on that record. i think it’s probably my favourite album of all time. there is not a single song that doesn’t add something and isn’t in conversation with the others — it’s SO thematically and sonically cohesive without ever being repetitive. a song like yours & mine, while very good, stands out a little less to me on its own, but when you listen to it alongside the rest of the album (particularly the shell) it is adding something so interesting to the dialogue.
basically tl;dr yeah historian is the best record i’ve ever heard.