Lucy Dacus has announced the details of her highly anticipated third album: it’s called Home Video and comes out on June 25 through Matador. As suggested by the album title, as well as previous single “Thumbs”, Home Video finds Dacus exploring her youth and coming-of-age. That’s also the impetus for today’s new single “Hot & Heavy”, about which she reveals:
“I thought I was writing ‘Hot & Heavy’ about an old friend, but I realized along the way that it was just about me outgrowing past versions of myself. So much of life is submitting to change and saying goodbye even if you don’t want to. Now whenever I go to places that used to be significant to me, it feels like trespassing the past. I know that the teen version of me wouldn’t approve of me now, and that’s embarrassing and a little bit heartbreaking, even if I know intellectually that I like my life and who I am.”
“Being back here makes me hot in the face / hot blood in my pulsing veins,” she begins, setting the scene for a psychogeographical trip through innocent youth and cringe-inducing memories. With her usual emotional honesty delivered with her songbird voice, combined with a rich tapestry of guitar and synth, “Hot & Heavy” drags us alongside Dacus as she reckons with how much she’s changed since her adolescence – for better and worse. A loping indie jam that provides the perfect canvas for Dacus whistle-stop tour through mental and physical memories, “Hot & Heavy” is another example of why she’s such a treasured songwriter, able to relate her own experiences to something that we all feel deep down.
For the video, which Dacus directed herself, she literally takes us back to one of her youthful haunts: the historic Byrd Theatre in Richmond, VA. Enjoy that below or listen to “Hot & Heavy” on streaming platforms.
Lucy Dacus’ new album Home Video arrives on June 25 through Matador (pre-order/save). Make sure you follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
