| "Night Shift" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Lucy Dacus | ||||
| from the album Historian | ||||
| Released | December 12, 2017 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 6:31 | |||
| Label | Matador | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Lucy Dacus | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Lucy Dacus singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Night Shift" on YouTube | ||||
"Night Shift" is a song by American indie rock musician Lucy Dacus. It was released as the lead single from her album Historian on December 12, 2017. [1]
Dacus described the song as, "The only breakup song I've ever written." [2] It was inspired by her relationship with her former bassist, with whom she broke up after finishing the tour for her previous album No Burden . [3] She said that her decision to include it as the opening track on the album was:
Very deliberate! A breakup song is so immediately relatable. A first genuine heartbreak is a look into reimagining what your life is going to look like. If you accommodate somebody else and you think they’re going to be part of your life and then they’re not, you have to reform. The rest of the album has that reforming quality — having the rug pulled out from underneath you, and coming back. [4]
"Night Shift" was released to critical acclaim. Andrew Marantz of The New Yorker described it as "a cathartic, bridge-burning, no-fucks-given breakup song." [5] Julien Luebbers of The Spokesman-Review wrote that the song was "a vibrant example of linear construction, the song building from soft guitar and vocals to headbanging passion and some seriously impressive singing," [6] and Layla Halabian of The Fader named it, "One of the great breakup songs of all time." [4] James Rettig of Stereogum called it "A six-and-a-half-minute sprawl that earns every one of those seconds," and, "A marvel of songwriting," [7] while Bob Boilen of NPR Music's program All Songs Considered declared it "One of 2018's great songs." [8] The song has been praised for its pacing, [9] lyricism, [5] and instrumentation that lies between confessional songwriting and punk. [10] Gabbie Nirenburg of independent music magazine No Ripcord was more mixed in her assessment, saying it "has a memorable chorus and bridge, but it is entirely too predictable to stand up to Dacus’s earlier work." [11]
In 2019, NPR Music listeners picked "Night Shift" as one of the top 25 songs of the decade. [12]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spin | 101 Best Songs of 2018 | 96 | [13] |
| Pitchfork | The 100 Best Songs of 2018 | 50 | [14] |
| Rolling Stone | 50 Best Songs of 2018 | 30 | [15] |
| Paste | The 50 Best Songs of 2018 | 3 | [16] |
| NPR Music | The 100 Best Songs of 2018 | 2 | [17] |
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stereogum | The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s | 176 | [18] |
| Rolling Stone | 100 Best Songs of the 2010s | 74 | [19] |
| NPR Music | The 2010s: NPR Listeners Pick Their Top Songs of the Decade | 14 | [12] |
| Paste | 100 Best Songs of the 2010s | 11 | [20] |
At the time of the song's release, Dacus and her label did not have the time or funding available to produce a music video. In 2023, five years from Historian's release, Dacus worked with Jane Schoenbrun, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Phoebe Bridgers, and others to release a video featuring Dacus as a hotel employee who stumbles across a fantastical party. [21]
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Lucy Elizabeth Dacus is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Dacus attracted attention with her debut album No Burden (2016), which led to a deal with Matador Records. Historian, her second album, was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. Home Video, her third studio album, was released in 2021.
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Historian is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus, released on March 2, 2018, through Matador Records.
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Home Video is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus. It was released on June 25, 2021, via Matador. It was promoted by the singles "Thumbs", "Hot & Heavy", "VBS", "Brando", and "Going Going Gone". The album received critical acclaim and placed on many critics' year-end lists.