Lizzy McAlpine’s extension of her third studio album is refreshing, introspective, and above all else – melodically satisfying.
When McAlpine announced the album and released the lead single and title track ‘Older’ earlier this year, she told everyone to change their expectations for this record. She didn’t have it in her anymore to continue the pop sound in her previous album, five seconds flat, which brought her viral breakout hit ‘ceilings’. Her heart was broken, her world was shattered, and she needed to make the music that her gut was telling her to make.
This led to an album filled with loungey and infectious instrumentals mixed with lyrics that tug at your heartstrings to create an undeniably bewitching atmosphere. Although the mellow sound gets a little musically uninteresting at times, moments such as ‘Pushing It Down and Praying’ offer career highlights within McAlpine’s discography, completely shying away from her sexual innuendos and euphemisms to craft a brutally self-reflective piece of art, both sonically and lyrically.
Some songs like ‘Spring into Summer’ make the listener groove along, others like ‘March’ and ‘Drunk, Running’ make them want to isolate and violently sob — while songs like ‘All Falls Down’ and ‘Come Down Soon’ make them do both at the same time. This project primarily proved that her effective world-building elevates her ability to create a good record, rather than a collection of good songs.
