Lucy Dacus has teased a new song called ‘Thumbs’ on her social media accounts.
The singer-songwriter shared two photos on Instagram yesterday (February 25) of VHS tapes in blue sleeves. On the labels, previous films and home videos were crossed out and underneath the word “THUMBS” was written in blue ink.
One fan posted on Reddit saying that they had received one in the post and, after playing it, explained it was a song that Dacus had previously performed live at several sets, including at New York’s Webster Hall in 2019.
“This version is super sparse and the song itself is devastating,” they wrote. “There is no video to accompany it – it’s just a blue screen with a looping image of a VHS spinning.”
In the photos, the tapes are numbered out of 100, suggesting that many fans could be receiving similar VHS cassettes in the mail soon.
Dacus last released new music with her ‘2019’ EP, which featured both original tracks and covers of songs by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Phil Collins. Last year, she teamed up with The Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser on the track ‘Isabella’.
Her last album, ‘Historian’ arrived in 2018, following her 2016 debut ‘No Burden’. She also released a collaborative self-titled record with Boygenius – aka Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker – in 2018.
The supergroup reunited recently on a new song of Baker’s, ‘Favor’. The track appears on her new album ‘Little Oblivions’, which was released today (February 26).
“We sang on ‘Favor’ in Nashville the same day we recorded vocals for [Phoebe Bridgers’ song] ‘Graceland Too’ and a song of mine,” Dacus has said of the track. “That day had the same atmosphere as when we recorded the boygenius EP. Making music was just a natural result of being together, easy as can be but also rare in a way that feels irreplicable.
“I love the song for its stark but sensitive picture of friendship, what it looks like to recover from broken trust. Makes me think about how truth only ever breaks what should be broken, and how love is never one of those things. I’m always honoured to be brought into Julien’s life and music.”
