Forever Is A Feeling by Lucy Dacus

Lucy Dacus Forever Is A Feeling

73
ChoruScore Critic consensus / 100

Released Mar 28, 2025 Lucy Dacus, under exclusive license to Geffen Records.

Established consensus 18 professional reviews Updated Oct 2, 2026

Mostly positive consensus

Lucy Dacus's Forever Is A Feeling arrives as a record of grown-up romance, mapping intimacy and memory with a largely restrained, affecting palette.

How ChoruScore works

Critics' Top Tracks

The songs critics returned to most

01

Limerence

14 critic mentions

“The strings and piano are masterfully weaved throughout "Limerence," elevating the song significantly” — Glide Magazine
02

Forever Is A Feeling

11 critic mentions

“In the jubilant title song, she takes a romantically charged road-trip over sped-up piano,” — Rolling Stone
03

Lost Time

10 critic mentions

“nothing lasts forever but let’s see how far we get / So when it comes my time to lose you / I’ll have made the most of it” — The A.V. Club
Full critic consensus

Lucy Dacus's Forever Is A Feeling arrives as a record of grown-up romance, mapping intimacy and memory with a largely restrained, affecting palette. Across 18 professional reviews critics converge on the album's strengths: precise, diaristic lyricism, careful arrangements and a handful of songs that cut through the record's soft sheen. The consensus score sits at 72.83/100, reflecting broadly positive but measured praise from music critics.

Reviewers consistently point to standout tracks when asked what the best songs on Forever Is A Feeling are. “Limerence”, “Ankles” and the title song “Forever Is A Feeling” recur as highlights for their string-laden theatricality, queer tenderness and memorable hooks, while “Lost Time” is widely lauded as a devastating closer. Critics note collaborations and production touches - Hozier's cameo on “Bullseye” and Blake Mills' spare work on “For Keeps” - that expand Dacus's sound without obscuring the album's confessional center. Across reviews the record's musical expansion into lush arrangements and subtle pop flourishes earns praise even as some writers fault a retreat from sharper, gut-punch moments.

The critical consensus frames Forever Is A Feeling as a mature, sometimes quietly thrilling chapter in Dacus's songwriting: praised for intimate storytelling, occasional widescreen drama and moments of erotic specificity, yet described by some as too muted in places. For readers wondering is Forever Is A Feeling good, the answer from professional reviews is cautiously affirmative - a record with essential high points and a cohesive artistic statement that rewards repeated listens. Below, detailed reviews unpack where the album's restraint succeeds and where a little more edge might have pushed it into unqualified classic status.

Track Ratings

How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.

View:
1

Calliope Prelude

9 mentions
35
01:16
2

Big Deal

9 mentions
46
04:19
3

Ankles

15 mentions
90
03:11
4

Limerence

14 mentions
100
03:12
5

Modigliani

9 mentions
39
03:06
6

Talk

10 mentions
67
03:17
7

For Keeps

13 mentions
95
02:11
8

Forever Is A Feeling

11 mentions
100
03:12
9

Come Out

12 mentions
37
03:48
10

Best Guess

12 mentions
54
04:00
11

Bullseye (with Hozier)

11 mentions
54
03:23
12

Most Wanted Man

9 mentions
45
03:54
13

Lost Time

10 mentions
100
04:43

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What Critics Are Saying

Deep insights from 18 critics who reviewed this album

Critic's Take

The review singles out adventurous moments - soaring strings on “Ankles”, space-age plinking on the title track and distorted slow grunge on “Talk” - that make these the album's most memorable songs. Overall the tone is appreciative and assured, positioning these songs as the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling because they blend emotional heft with inventive production.

Key Points

  • The best song is "Lost Time" because it is called the "gorgeous closer" and delivers a striking lyrical moment.
  • The album's strengths are its layered, lush arrangements and adventurous production choices that balance introspection with bold textures.

Themes

introspection Americana desire collaboration
80

Critic's Take

Lucy Dacus’s Forever Is A Feeling frames its best songs as intimate studies of grown-up life, and the review zeroes in on “Limerence” and “Ankles” as defining moments. The critic’s sentences savor detail - the piano balladry of “Limerence” numbs and clarifies, while “Ankles” strides forward as a candid anthem of queer tenderness. There is also particular praise for “Come Out” as a highlight that captures post-breakup exploration and quiet longing. Overall the piece reads as admiration writ plain: textured, melodic, and emotionally exacting, which answers searches for the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling with clear, song-level reasons.

Key Points

  • The best song status goes to “Ankles” and “Limerence” for their emotional clarity and melodic strength.
  • The album’s core strengths are textured arrangements, strong melodies, and a narrative arc from uncertainty to conviction.

Themes

maturity self-acceptance everyday domesticity queer tenderness evolution from uncertainty to conviction

Critic's Take

Lucy Dacus sounds happier and more assured on Forever Is A Feeling, where love-fuelled lyricism and minimalist melodies meet. The review leans on intimate moments to flag the best tracks - “Most Wanted Man” for its small, domestic tenderness and the title track “Forever Is A Feeling” for its plaintive memory of attraction. Dacus balances celebration with insecurity, so the best songs on Forever Is A Feeling feel lived-in rather than performative.

Key Points

  • “Most Wanted Man” is the best song for its intimate, domestic tenderness and heartfelt lyricism.
  • The album's core strengths are its love-fuelled lyricism, minimalist melodies, and candid exploration of insecurity within queer relationships.

Themes

love and relationships queer identity insecurity vs celebration minimalist melodies domestic intimacy

Critic's Take

Lucy Dacus keeps getting more candid on Forever Is A Feeling, and the best songs - notably “Ankles” and “Come Out” - are the ones where that frankness pays off in vivid, immediate detail. Danton writes with a measured admiration, pointing to the erotic specificity of “Ankles” and the impulsive romanticism of “Come Out” as highlights that make the album's diaristic voice feel alive. He also singles out the wistful closer, “Lost Time”, for its full-circle arrangement that underlines Dacus' growth. Overall, the record's lush textures and guest contributions serve the songs, letting Dacus sound like the purest version of herself while widening her palette.

Key Points

  • The best song is likely "Ankles" because its erotic specificity and candid lyrics make it an immediate standout.
  • The album's strengths are candid, diaristic songwriting and expanded, lush musical arrangements that foreground Dacus' voice.

Themes

romantic desire intimacy self-doubt musical expansion diaristic songwriting

Critic's Take

In his intimate, reverent tone Dale Maplethorpe argues that Lucy Dacus’s Forever Is A Feeling earns its keep because of songs like “Lost Time” and “Limerence”, which capture love and memory in luminous, precise detail. He writes as if guiding a reader through a cherished novel, insisting no skips - and his praise for “Lost Time” as a "perfect song" frames it as one of the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling. The review highlights how the storytelling and lyrical detail elevate tracks such as “For Keeps” and the title song, praising dynamics, vocal nuance and small instrumental flourishes. Overall his voice is celebratory and clear: this is an affecting singer-songwriter record whose best tracks repay repeated listens.

Key Points

  • “Lost Time” is the album’s emotional apex, called "a perfect song" and serving as a resonant closing statement.
  • The album’s core strengths are Dacus’s storytelling, lyrical detail and subtle instrumental arrangements that deepen the emotional impact.

Themes

time love memory storytelling intimacy

Critic's Take

In this review I find Lucy Dacus’s Forever Is A Feeling anchored by her best songs - notably “Ankles” and “For Keeps” - where lush arrangements and confessional lyrics collide. Across the album her emotive vocals ride strings and piano with an operatic-pop flair, and those standout moments are precisely what answer the question of the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling.

Key Points

  • "For Keeps" is best for its unforgettable, emotionally dense lyrics and memorable lines.
  • The album’s core strengths are lush arrangements and Dacus' confessional songwriting delivered by emotive, operatic-pop vocals.

Themes

lush arrangements confessional lyrics collaboration love and loss hopeful melancholy

Critic's Take

Lucy Dacus stretches out on Forever Is a Feeling with a suite of adult love songs that trade coming-of-age melodrama for lived-in, messy romance. Sheffield zeroes in on standouts like “Limerence” and “Ankles”, praising the twisted supper-club piano of “Limerence” and the libidinal build and Eighties synth burbles in “Ankles”. The result is a record that feels both high-profile and warmly familiar, often startling when Dacus flips a line into something heartbreakingly sly.

Key Points

  • The best song is "Limerence" because its twisted supper-club piano and startling vocal twist make it a highlight.
  • The album’s core strengths are intimate, adult-minded songwriting and Dacus’s warm, sometimes startling vocal turns.

Themes

adult romance long-term relationships tension and desire nostalgia

Critic's Take

In a voice both wry and tender, Lucy Dacus unspools the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling with cinematic sweep and plainspoken lines. The opener “Calliope Prelude” sets the ornate chamber-pop scene, while “Best Guess” lands as a songwriterly standout with the line that clicks into place. Dacus balances theatrical flourishes and dry wit throughout, which is why listeners will be drawn to these key moments.

Key Points

  • The title track best expresses the album’s central paradox of bliss and torment.
  • The album’s core strengths are its chamber-pop arrangements, vivid lyrical scenes, and Dacus’s warm, nostalgic vocal delivery.

Themes

love longing obsession mortality nostalgia

Critic's Take

There are clear best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling, and Lucy Dacus sounds most alive when she lands a sharp image or a jolting line. On “Limerence” she luxuriates in string-heavy theatricality, while the sparse Blake Mills arrangement on “For Keeps” exposes her aching vocals in all their fragility. The album’s brighter moment, “Best Guess”, offers a genuine jolt with gendered tenderness that proves Dacus can write startlingly awake love songs. Yet too often the record drifts toward muted, dreamlike territory, making its high points feel precious and intermittent.

Key Points

  • The best song is "Limerence" because its string-heavy, theatrical arrangement and lyrical comfort zone make Dacus sound most vivid.
  • The album’s core strengths are intimate vocal moments and occasional jolting lyrics, though they are unevenly distributed across muted, mid-tempo songs.

Themes

fleeting romance nostalgia quiet joy intimacy production collaborations

Critic's Take

Lucy Dacus’s Forever Is A Feeling keeps her signature attention to memory while polishing songs into gleaming pop. The reviewer's ear lingers on “Big Deal” and the title track as exemplars of Dacus’ warm, luminous songcraft, and “Lost Time” is singled out as an instant-classic closer. There is praise for playful moments like “Ankles” and spare confessionals such as “For Keeps”, which together explain why listeners search for the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling. The narrative remains that Dacus has softened some jagged confessional edges but traded them for wider, more universal pop resonance.

Key Points

  • The best song is the closer "Lost Time" because the reviewer calls it an "instant classic of a closer" and ties it to lasting emotional moments.
  • The album’s core strengths are Dacus’ warm, luminous songcraft and the blending of intimate songwriter detail with gleaming pop production.

Themes

memory love and heartbreak nostalgia transition to pop

Critic's Take

Jeremy Winograd hears Lucy Dacus as a quiet chronicler of intimacy on Forever Is A Feeling, praising the way quotidian moments become revelatory. In his measured, observant tone he singles out “Ankles” and the title track “Forever Is a Feeling” for their pulsating cello-rock and ethereal synth swirl, respectively, while noting how songs like “For Keeps” land with a naked, acoustic gut punch. The review balances admiration for Dacus's lyrical clarity with a critique of the album's retreat to sleepy, strummy arrangements. Overall, Winograd frames the best songs as those that break the album's laidback spell and restore the dramatic climaxes she does so well.

Key Points

  • The best song moments are those that inject drama into the album's laidback palette, notably the pulsating cello-rock of "Ankles".

Themes

intimacy everyday details romantic introspection subdued arrangements

Critic's Take

Lucy Dacus leans into aching restraint on Forever Is A Feeling, and the record’s best moments come when a darker texture punctures its sweetness. Ultimately, the record feels like earned wisdom rendered in demure, sometimes quietly thrilling arrangements.

Key Points

  • The album's core strength is its lyrical intimacy and considered arrangements, even when the music plays it safe.

Themes

unrequited desire restraint vs passion maturity romantic obsession sentimentality

Critic's Take

In a characteristically measured voice, Lucy Dacus's Forever Is A Feeling finds its clearest moments in tracks like “Forever Is A Feeling” and “Talk”, where the melodies are allowed to soar and the guitars briefly cut loose. Joshua Mills writes with the sort of conversational, slightly sardonic cadence that undercuts fawning praise, noting how the album's stateliness sometimes costs it oomph yet admits the title track's dextrous build is "a thing of beauty". He praises Dacus's lyricism and single-minded focus on a new relationship while lamenting a softness that keeps some songs, notably “Ankles” and the Hozier duet, from truly growing. The result answers queries about the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling by pointing to “Forever Is A Feeling” and “Talk” as the album's most rewarding moments.

Key Points

  • The title track is best for its build, vocal range, and Boygenius-backed climax.
  • The album's core strengths are lyricism and focused themes, offset by a restrained, soft-focus production.

Critic's Take

In this review Lewis Wade finds that Lucy Dacus's Forever Is A Feeling has moments that sing brightest - notably “For Keeps”, “Most Wanted Man” and the closer “Lost Time”. Wade praises Dacus when she "lays into the guitar" and when songs are pared back, arguing those approaches reveal her songwriting genius more clearly than the album's safer chamber-pop moments. He calls “Lost Time” a "devastating tour-de-force" and positions “For Keeps” as a tender highlight, which together answer the question of the best tracks on Forever Is A Feeling. Overall the tone is admiring but measured, noting flashes of brilliance amid recurring caution in lyrics and arrangements.

Key Points

  • The best song is "Lost Time" because it is called a "devastating tour-de-force" and functions as a powerful, melancholic closer.

Themes

love and longing homesickness restraint vs. abandon stripped arrangements tempo shifts

Critic's Take

Alexis Petridis hears restraint as the defining trait of Forever Is A Feeling, praising Lucy Dacus's intimate lyricism while noting a scarcity of arresting tunes. He highlights “Limerence” as the album's most musically striking moment and singles out “Modigliani” and “Come Out” for vivid, detail-rich lines. The review frames the best tracks as those where Dacus leans toward a show-tune sweep or allows a louder impulse to surface, but overall the record opts for pleasant understatement rather than sharp, memorable hooks.

Key Points

  • The best song, "Limerence", is the most musically striking because it leans into a show-tune sweep that suits Dacus's deep voice.
  • The album's core strengths are intimate, vivid lyricism and tasteful, restrained production, but it often lacks sharply memorable melodies.

Themes

restraint intimacy romantic relationship lyricism vs. tunesmithing subtle production

Critic's Take

Matthew Neale finds that on Lucy Dacus's Forever Is A Feeling the best moments — notably “Limerence” and “Ankles” — come from small, vivid details and well-placed string parts, but he argues the record often drifts into generic bliss. He praises the swooning production and Dacus's rich alto, yet repeatedly returns to the idea that the album lacks the gut-punch of past songs. The review balances admiration for the domestic warmth of songs like “Ankles” with frustration at cliché and a tentative second half.

Key Points

  • The best song moments hinge on vivid incidental details and tasteful arrangements, as heard in “Ankles”.

Themes

love and bliss queer domesticity lush production lack of emotional gut-punch