Lucy Dacus has released a previously unreleased song titled «No Thank You, I Love You, Goodbye» and performed a live cover of Japanese Breakfast's «Paprika» during a festival appearance. The new track arrives as part of a 10th-anniversary reissue of her debut album, «No Burden,» which she is celebrating this year.
In a lengthy social media statement, Dacus explained that the reissue was made possible after she regained ownership of her masters. She reflected on writing the songs for «No Burden» while working a series of odd jobs, including as a box office attendant, a yearbook photo editor, and a waitress. She described jotting lyrics on sticky notes and napkins, humming melodies on her walk home, and figuring out guitar parts before sleep. «I didn't think any of you would hear them,» she wrote. «Maybe 50 of you? And those 50 know who they are.»
The reissue includes new artwork and adds «No Thank You, I Love You, Goodbye» at the end, a song Dacus wrote around the same time as the original album tracks but left unreleased until now. She noted that listening back to the record after years made her realize she «literally hadn't found my voice» at the time. She also observed that she sounded «more southern» on the early recordings, wondering if she had subconsciously shed that quality over the years. «It means the world to me that, today, I get my masters back,» she said. «'No Burden' is mine. This day always seemed so far in the future, but here we are.»
In addition to the reissue, Dacus performed at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, where she filled in for a pregnant Japanese Breakfast. During her set, she paid tribute to Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner by covering the song «Paprika.» The performance served as a nod to Zauner, who had to withdraw from the festival due to her pregnancy.
Dacus's most recent album, «Forever Is A Feeling,» was released last year. She has remained active on the live circuit, making a guest appearance during Hayley Williams's set at the Newport Folk Festival earlier this summer, joining the Paramore singer alongside Jack Antonoff, Jenny Lewis, Remi Wolf, Karly Hartzman of Wednesday, and Joy Oladokun. Prior to that, she joined The Killers on stage at Osheaga Festival in Montreal last August for a rendition of «Read My Mind.» She also teamed up with Chappell Roan for a cover of the Magnetic Fields track «The Book of Love» at Mustafa's Sudan and Palestine aid benefit show in Los Angeles. In August, she brought out her Boygenius bandmate Julien Baker to perform «Bullseye» at the Outside Lands festival.
The 10th-anniversary reissue of «No Burden» is available now, featuring the new song and updated artwork. The release marks a full-circle moment for Dacus, who has since become one of the most prominent voices in indie rock, both as a solo artist and as a member of the supergroup Boygenius.