Lizzy McAlpine has been lost on the path to finding her perfect sound for a long time. Despite the remarkable success of her previous album, “five seconds flat,” and the sudden breakthrough of her single “ceilings,” the singer found herself not wanting to base her third album on that same sound.
While discussing “five seconds flat” in an interview with Zach Sang, McAlpine said, “I think that that’s not necessarily what I actually sound like as an artist … my first album [‘Give Me A Minute’] was very much in the folk singer-songwriter vein, and with ‘five seconds flat’ I wanted to … do something completely different, I didn’t want to be pigeonholed…into that genre.” McAlpine thus decided to revert to her folk-pop roots with “Older,” a sonically pensive album that is lyrically rooted in realism as opposed to the escapism of previous records.
The single that shares the album’s name was released almost two months before the album itself, and the stark contrast in the track’s production and poeticism compared to McAlpine’s previous work was a clear sign of what direction she was headed, both in terms of artistry and state of mind. It is a passage detailing the fallout of a relationship. The lines “Thought it’d be over by now / Thought you would leave / Thought I would come to my senses / Wish I was stronger somehow / Wish it was easy / Somewhere I lost all my senses / I wish I knew what the end is” conveys her sense of regret and criticism of her inability to carry herself through the motions of a relationship.
The rest of the album’s tracks carry on the trend of stripped-back production, made from a blend of piano, strings, guitar and a gradual introduction of percussion. “The Elevator,” the album’s opening track, gives the perfect opening into McAlpine’s world and mind as the listener proceeds into the thick of it all. “It wasn’t slow, it happened fast / And suddenly the only thing I saw was you,” she says plainly yet succinctly.
Numerous tracks across the album speak to McAlpine’s realism. “I Guess” also plays into her insecurity over a stable relationship as an emotionally unhealthy person, set to a mellow backtrack that builds up to a triumphant last-minute bridge. “Broken Glass” shows the listener scenes from a violent relationship that she could not leave or retaliate against out of fear of solitude, as she conveys in the following bridge: “I want you now and then I don’t / And every word is a landmine / I hold the glass against your throat / But I can’t do it this time / It might seem like I love you / But I just don’t want to be alone.”
“You Forced Me To,” a personal favorite, has McAlpine self-chastising over her relationship with a person who is so committed to loving her for who she is that it actually changes her emotionally. “I want you to hate me / I deserve it for my crimes / I know that I loved you / But you loved me harder / Every time” she explains during the chorus.
Perhaps the most impactful—and most personal—piece is “March.” The thirteenth track on the record, “March” was penned in the memory of McAlpine’s father, who passed away on March 13, 2020. The song delves into how she constantly finds her father in the little things and her surprise at how much it hurts her. The song tugs at the heartstrings just as much as “chemtrails” on “five seconds flat,” which discusses the exact same subject and how she misses what she took for granted. “I didn’t know it’d be this hard / So far away, and then it hits you,” she sings in a whisper-like tone.
“Older” is an album that showcases a perfect blend of intimacy and boldness, with a lyrical poignancy and melodies that reveal raw emotions yet instill confidence in the path ahead. The self-awareness and wealth of life experiences featured just go to show just how much McAlpine is not just an artist in her prime, but a storyteller who is wise beyond her years.