Rewind, Be Kind: On 'Home Video,' Lucy Dacus Writes Her Own Rules For Friendship

Lucy Dacus gets asked for advice a lot. "I feel very grateful that people care about what I have to say," the 26-year-old singer-songwriter says. Dacus speaks carefully, often pausing to collect herself before finishing a thought, though she's amused at the perception of her as some kind of sage. She doesn't like being prescriptive; she just thinks it's easier to help solve other people's problems. "Sometimes I wonder if I just come off as a really wise person, or am I actually wise?" she laughs. "Everybody has better perspective outside of themselves than within themselves, you know?"

It's that outlook — sweetly compassionate, astute without being self-serious — that characterizes Home Video, Dacus' marvelous third album. Home Video is a continuation of the wryly observational, graceful songwriting that has always characterized Dacus' music; her songs have a keen eye for how small moments between people can, over time, slowly accumulate until they take on a surprising significance.

But on this record, she narrows her scope. Dacus says she usually writes songs by musing on repeated patterns or recurring relationships in her life; on , though, nearly every song focuses on a particular moment in her youth and teen years. Its 11 songs survey elementary-school crushes, close friends with subpar boyfriends and deadbeat parents, religious summer camp and teenage