“Forever Is a Feeling,” but this feeling wasn’t one that lasted for me.

Lucy Dacus, the American singer and songwriter known for being a member of the band “Boygenius,” released her newest album “Forever Is a Feeling,” except it felt more momentary.

The album has some great songs such as “Lost Time,” “Big Deal” and “Bullseye,” but the rest of the album truly doesn’t match the lyricism and creativity she has placed in her other albums.

The album starts with a prelude, aptly named “Calliope Prelude.”

Personally, I love preludes to albums. They always share something unique about an album and what we might see thematically, but Dacus started the album less anticipatorily than I hoped.

It felt much more dry in sound and I was hoping to envision more of the album from its opening sound.

For example, the lead single on the album “Ankles” depicts a fantasy she has had and overcoming the shame that comes along with love that isn’t real.

The song isn’t necessarily bad, but in its essence it sounds like a song you would find in a Netflix soundtrack for a teen movie. Even with its well-done intonation and relatively catchy tune, I have a hard time enjoying it as much as I would’ve wanted.

This album has definitely captured a new tone from Dacus. It captures something her previous albums didn’t, sweet sentiments. 

Dacus has always been characterized as an emotional lyricist, but this album has much more of a whimsical feel that we have yet to see from her.

Although I am not a fan of this side of her, I applaud her for the attempt of switching to a new voice in the music industry to see if it matches her, especially with her recent move from Matador to Geffen, a major label company, according to Spins.

After her single, the next song titled “Limerence” changes sounds to a much more whimsical nature.

The single’s melodic piano adds such a beautiful passion to the song that could work as a love song, but the song’s entire message depicts breaking someone’s heart.

However, even with songs that are so melody-focused on the album, I wish Dacus focused on her more heart-wrenching pieces like “Talk.”

Dacus has been known to create a sound that impacts her audiences heavily through repetition or hard-hitting bridges. Unfortunately, though, it seems that she hasn’t created that same effect in this album.

“Talk” shares a side of Dacus that isn’t just gut-wrenching but also incredibly powerful. The use of the electric guitar and static sounds almost hints at other artists like Ethel Cain. 

The song is engaging. I’m curious to see Dacus experiment more with this sound and see if it sticks fully.

As the album continues, it falls flat quickly with songs like “Come Out.” Even when she uses her consistent repetition with lines like, “I miss you” and “I want you,” it just doesn’t leave its listeners wanting more.

Dacus tends to use repetition to drive a message, but in this song, it feels like she is doing simply to fill space. It’s almost empty, especially when compared to her other works.

Dacus also has a Hozier feature on the album for the song “Bullseye.”  Honestly, it was not as bad as I assumed it would be. To me, Hozier and Dacus don’t align musically, but this song shows her versatility in working with other artists and making well-rounded music.

The song depicts feelings of contentment with a relationship, even when it is near its end. Dacus even described it in an interview as a song that “reads as the ideal breakup” between two people who are no longer together.

The album ends on my personal favorite song of the album, “Lost Time.” In this song, Dacus reflects on all the time she has loved this person she references throughout the album. 

“But I love you and every day/That I knew it and didn’t say is lost time/Now I’m knocking down your door/’Cause I’m trying to make up for lost time,” Dacus writes.

As much as I love the sadness Dacus brings to her music, the sense of yearning in this song was truly impeccable.

Even with the certain distastes I have in the album, I can always appreciate when artists depict love in a way they haven’t previously.

By leaving her listeners with this reflective moment of how she defines love, I am much more satisfied with its ending. Dacus’s duality is shown at the end of this album, and I think this wraps up the album perfectly. 

This album wasn’t necessarily innovative, but it appealed to her audience, which isn’t inherently wrong. I just wished Dacus would give us something we have yet to see, an emotion that tugs with us like her previous albums “Home Video” and “No Burden.”

Once she finds her rhythm, I truly believe Dacus will exceed expectations as an artist, but I hope to see her tap into new musical qualities to find herself in her work.