Recently, I stumbled upon Lizzy McAlpine’s latest album, “Older,” and it has truly taken over my life. Every lyric and song feels so intentional and raw in a way that I haven’t heard in many other albums. In this project, McAlpine truly cemented her place as a storyteller, pouring heaps of emotions and life experiences into every track. She invites listeners on a journey through heartbreak and healing while building on her personal style and genre-bending sound.
I’ve always been a relative fan of Lizzy McApline. “Ceilings,” was the soundtrack of everybody’s lives in early 2023. However, I didn’t dive headfirst into her music until late last year. When I listened to “Older,” it was only out of curiosity. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with every track. Here are some of my personal standouts:
“Spring Into Summer,” was the first song to catch my attention. It’s the very last track on the extended version of the album, “Older (and Wiser).” In many ways, this song single-handedly started my love for Lizzy McAlpine. The melody is entrancing and her raw vocals coax listeners into the lyrics and story of the track.
The second I heard “Spring Into Summer,” it was the only song that I listened to for days on end. On this beautifully constructed track, Lizzy McAlpine explores the never-ending cycle of always running back to someone. We hear her heartbreak and yearning to change the past in every soulful lyric. My favorite line in this song is the very last line, where she finally breaks free of this cycle, “Summer is falling, it’s a distant dream. If I turn around, you’re running back to me.”
On my first listen of the album, “Soccer Practice,” stopped me in my tracks. The emotional vulnerability that McAlpine unveils throughout her lyrics paints a sorrowful picture for every listener. At the beginning of the song, she fantasizes about a perfect family and life with someone she loves, but faces the reality that she can’t have it. Realizing this, she begins to feel like she doesn’t know herself without this person. She sings, “We could have had it, but then again, we never could have done it, I was weaker then,” and “When this is over, who will I be? I wish that you would finally say no to me.”
The next song that pulled me into the album was track eight, “Drunk, Running.” This song navigates the emotional chaos and uncertainty of a relationship tainted by addiction. She repeats the lyric, “Say I love you, and then drink it backwards,” over and over again throughout the heartbreaking song. McAlpine tells the story of the struggles of alcoholism in a relationship, and her own actions in the continuous cycle. In these truly introspective lyrics, she realizes the harm in enablement. She sings, “No one stops you, nobody takes you from my hand. Even when you break your leg drunk, running. Someone ought to hold me to my word. Say I love you, and then drink it backwards.”
You can’t talk about “Older” without talking about the lead single of the deluxe tracks, “Pushing it Down and Praying.” Throughout McAlpines lyrics, she tells a story of a relationship held together only by intimacy. She yearns for someone else, and she wishes that she wanted something better for herself. The emotional turmoil of this relationship takes a toll on Lizzy as she sings, “I want to feel that it’s wrong, I want to know peace again, want to be singing a different song.”
Lizzy McAlpine’s “Older” feels like a coming of age letter, both vulnerable and introspective. I truly haven’t been able to connect to a singer’s emotions and lyricism as well as I can to McAlpine’s. Though I can’t relate to some of the themes on the album, her storytelling and raw feelings makes every listener feel like they are a part of her personal experiences. “Older” is a reminder that growing is just as painful as it is beautiful. This album is not just a collection of songs. It’s an experience, and above all, a reflection of life’s highs and lows.
