By Nora Schindler

Lizzy McAlpine is a singer songwriter who gained popularity by posting music on SoundCloud. Her debut album, Give Me a Minute came out in 2020 and her second album Five Seconds Flat came out in 2022. Older is her third album and major-label debut. 

The opening track “The Elevator” is short but powerful. This is what sets the scene for this entire album, a mix of slow and more fast pace songs and storytelling to her full potential.  The lyrics on this first track depicts an on and off relationship. McAlpine manages to paint a beautiful story in just a verse and a singular chorus. Setting a listener up for a deep emotional album with a quiet piano and then building it up was a brilliant choice. 

McAlpine proves herself skilled at writing soft but upbeat songs with “All Falls Down,” “Come Down Soon” and “Broken Glass.” Her ability to build up a song is remarkable. When you least expect it her theatrical storytelling and production move the song from a slow, vocally-focused piece to a more profound sound.

She is credited as a writer as well as a producer on this album and the blending between the two parts is clear. The album is cohesive but not repetitive. The sound is definitely of the singer/songwriter genre but also feels unique and fresh.

I think it is incredibly important to focus on the songwriting on this album because, although the words McAlpine uses are simple, the writing is so clear and stunning. I have heard all of the words before in daily conversation but the way she turns them into a story I could never tell is impressive. As a songwriter myself, I’ve been trained to write my story and release it with all of the emotions connected to it. As soon as it’s out it isn’t your story anymore it becomes the listener’s. In today’s music world, the relatability of a song is often what makes it most compelling.

There are a few completely self-written tracks where you can hear her talent shine, “Staying,” “Like It Tends To Do,” and “Vortex” are just a few. “Like It Tends To Do” tells the story of how the artist would treat a former partner if they were to see each other again. Lyrically it’s beautiful because again with the almost effortless words tied together in a really interesting story you can fit yourself right in. She has a lot of poignant lyrical moments in this song. One that sticks out to me goes like this: “If we were standing in the same room / Would we be in separate corners? / Would I actively avoid you?” This is so incredibly written, the concept is straightforward but the message is still there. 

“Vortex” is a really strong song both lyrically and production wise. It’s the fourteenth and final track on the album and self-written by McAlpine. The story in this song is some of her best work yet. The bridge of this song is one of my favorite parts of the whole album. McAlpine proves once again that she can tell a story with just a couple lines:  “And you’re screaming at me and I’m watching it fall / And I’m slamming the door and you make yourself tall / But it’s always an act and it never lasts long  / ‘Cause I always come back when I need a new song / And I’m tired of this and the way that it feels / I’m not there anymore, this has never been real / We’re just awful together and awful apart / I don’t know what to do anymore.”

As I was listening to this album I couldn’t help but put myself into the songs. These songs are obviously very personal to McAlpine, but they also have an element that is hard to accomplish, creating your story and broadening it to fit many groups of people. Sure it’s most likely about a romantic relationship, but what if it hits me on the friendship level? That’s a really incredible skill to have as a songwriter.

The album feels somewhat reminiscent of Phoebe Bridgers’ Stranger in the Alps in the best way. The instruments she used remind me a lot of Bridgers’ 2017 album. The simplistic acoustic sounds with the occasional buildup of drums or other instruments. The two singers’ vocals are very different but it is apparent that the two are cut from the same singer/songwriter cloth. 

McAlpine acknowledged the difference between this album and her previous two. Some fans expressed disappointment with the change in sound but with McAlpine being both a producer and writer on this album and it being years since her debut it’s only natural that she would grow as an artist and change, taking different creative leaps throughout her career. 

Overall the album is evocative, beautifully written, and a great addition to her discography. There is no skip-worthy song on this album. The same themes are consistent throughout but don’t bore me to death with repetitiveness. I love the subtle nods to other songs on the album in songs even if it’s just a word that appears in multiple songs. All parts of the album feel intentional as though every little thing was thought out down to the tiniest detail.