Lucy Dacus has released a new gorgeous single, “Hot & Heavy” and announced that her junior effort Home Video is out this summer. This track rings with the typical emotional resonance of Dacus’ music; even though it’s expected, it’s still overwhelming, like when she sings in the first verse: “You used to be so sweet/ Now you’re a firecracker on a crowded street.”

Today’s release follows the release of last month’s “Thumbs,” which was first debuted live in 2018 and quickly achieved legendary status amongst her fans. That one was much slower and more intense, more like a hymn. “Hot & Heavy” bounces with the same midtempo, vaguely upbeat energy as Phoebe Bridgers’ “Kyoto,” so it will probably become a fan favorite as well.

Read her statement about the song below:

I thought was writing “Hot & Heavy” about an old friend, but I realized along the way that it was just about me outgrowing past versions of myself. So much of life is submitting to change and saying goodbye even if you don’t want to. Now whenever I go to places that used to be significant to me, it feels like trespassing the past. I know that the teen version of me wouldn’t approve of me now, and that’s embarrassing and a little bit heartbreaking, even if I know intellectually that I like my life and who I am.

Dacus directed the “Hot & Heavy” video at the Byrd Theatre in Richmond, where she often saw movies growing up:

I knew I wanted to include some of the home video footage that my dad took of me while I was growing up. I wanted to visualize the moment when you first reflect on your childhood, which I think can also be the moment that childhood is over. For me, I feel like there was a hard switch when I started releasing music, when my identity went from being a personal project to something publicly observed and reflected. I asked my family (shoutout to my grandma) and some of my closest friends to be extras because they’re the people that knew me before that switch. I may have dropped out of film school, but I still love making movies and had a really fun time directing this one.

Listen to “Hot & Heavy” and check out the tracklist for Home Video below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Hot & Heavy”
02 “Christine”
03 “First Time”
04 “VBS”
05 “Cartwheel”
06 “Thumbs”
07 “Going Going Gone”
08 “Partner In Crime”
09 “Brando”
10 “Please Stay”
11 “Triple Dog Dare”

Home Video is out 6/25 via Matador. Dacus will perform on Colbert tonight; Taylor Swift is also a special guest on the episode. Dacus has also announced a big fall tour, starting with two Richmond hometown shows in September featuring Julien Baker and “special guests.”