Rose City Band & Lucy Dacus Have Made the Must-Hear Albums in an Absolutely Stacked Week

With too many new records to choose from, here are a few that rise above the rest.

Rose City Band - Earth Trip

Having been a long-time fan of Ripley Johnson’s work between Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips, it was no surprise when Summerlong, the second album from his Rose City Band project, ended up being a favorite of mine last year. Not only was it one of my most-played records, but Summerlong ended up number six album on the year-end list. In hindsight, I could have probably placed it even higher.

So when Johnson announced another Rose City Band album right after posting my rankings, I knew it would be a long wait until its June release. It became my most anticipated record of the year with so much time waiting for Earth Trip.

The day has finally come, and not only does Earth Trip exceed my expectations, but also surprised me with a new approach.

Summerlong appealed to me because of its hazy Grateful Dead energy. Released during the lockdown, it transported me to a much-needed sunny field where I was taking in a day set at an invented festival. With Earth Trip, Johnson has taken the hypnotic jams and turned them into a syrupy country album. There’s no hurry to be anywhere as the layers peel back at a tortoise’s pace.

Besides the more relaxed tempos, the lush instrumentation sets Earth Trip apart from the previous Rose City Band efforts. Barry Walker’s pedal steel guitar sets the stage on lustrous opener “Silver Roses” and drives the hook on “World Is Turning” while working in tandem with Johnson’s wah pedal. “In the Rain” is sprinkled with harmonica and Sanae Yamada’s placid keyboards before slowly giving way to some laid-back jamming.

On an album about returning to nature and finding the simplicity in life, “Lonely Places” is a highlight. Walker approaches the pedal steel on the track with an unexpected Keith Richards swagger, like “Tumbling Dice” reimagined as a barroom country ballad. Taking a break from the hustle, Johnson sings, “give me warm embraces, not a telephone.”

Recorded at home by Johnson and mixed by Cooper Crain, Earth Trip is a more intimate affair than Summerlong. Made for road trips roaming the quiet places in-between, Rose City Band has delivered another luscious stunner once again.

Earth Trip is available now on Thrill Jockey Records.

Lucy Dacus - Home Video

A few years ago, a wise friend told me that Lucy Dacus is the true star of boygenius, which features her alongside fellow sad girls Julian Baker and Phoebe Bridgers.

No Burden was a strong debut and her second album Historian made me a fan. But with her latest, Home Video, Lucy Dacus takes such a giant leap in her songwriting that it’s easy to hear how she has surpassed the latest efforts from her bandmates.

Home Video is a series of musical vignettes as Dacus tours through her teenage years in Richmond, Virginia, warts and all. A true testament to the difficulty of growing up, Home Video works because while the stories belong to Dacus, the experiences are universal.

“Hot & Heavy” has one of the best opening lines of the year, with Dacus returning to her hometown and singing, “being back here makes me hot in the face, hot blood in my pulsing veins, heavy memories weighing on my brain, hot and heavy in the basement of your parents’ place.”

Dacus weaves these reflections masterfully between uptempo rockers and crushing ballads. “Christine” is the latter, filled with concern for a friend in a bad relationship, as Dacus fumbles with how to confront it. “Thumbs” is another overwhelming example, a tale of Dacus reluctantly accompanying a friend to reunite with their long-lost deadbeat dad.

“VBS” is a highlight for those of us who didn’t love growing up in church. It’s a tale of a bible camp boyfriend with Dacus proclaiming, “your poetry was so bad, it took a lot not to laugh,” and includes the most unexpected Slayer reference of the year.

Songs like “First Time” and “Partner in Crime” magnificently demonstrate how Dacus can look back at awkward adolescence and confront its weirdness. These are not tales of triumphant prom royalty but instead the curious moments on the periphery.

The pop charts can have Olivia Rodrigo - Lucy Dacus’s floundering teenage tales are what the rest of us connect with.

Home Video is available now on Matador.

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