Lucy Dacus – “Strange Torpedo” (Stereogum Premiere)

Lucy Dacus – “Strange Torpedo” (Stereogum Premiere)

“I thought you’d hit rock bottom, but I’m starting to think that it doesn’t exist,” Lucy Dacus sings on “Strange Torpedo,” the second single from her upcoming debut album, No Burden. “‘Cause you’ve been falling for so long, and you haven’t hit anything solid yet.” Trying to help someone you love who doesn’t want it — or is too blinded by their own vices to accept it — can be the most frustrating and disheartening situation in the world. Watching someone engage in unhealthy behavior is painful, and you’re powerless to do anything about it except wait until they (hopefully) come around.

Dacus takes on the role of a concerned friend, never directly confronting her loved one’s bad habits, but constantly playing out possible solutions to them in her own head — “I get tongue-tied every time I try to tell you what I think is right,” “I’m more surprised every time you’re alive when I check for breath in the morning.” Just like she did on her lead single “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore,” the Richmond, VA singer casts an all-knowing but hesitant eye, observational but passive. “You’re a strange torpedo on the loose/ And I’ll play the fool, I’ll play the fool,” Dacus reiterates in the chorus. Listen below.

No Burden is out 2/26 via EggHunt Records — pre-order it here.

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