Lizzy McAlpine’s album “Older (and Wiser)” is a captivating journey through the complexities of growing up and gaining wisdom. With her soulful voice and poignant lyrics, she takes listers on an emotional journey, exploring themes of love, heartbreak, self discovery, and resilience. Each track on the album offers a unique perspective, blueing heartfelt storytelling with intricate melodies. I believe that this perfect album resonates with listeners on a deeply personal level and causing them to take another look at their life and relationships.

The Elevator

The album opens with a quick track that is less than two minutes of simple piano chords, a vocal line full of harmonies, and an outro filled with the intensity of falling in love. This is one of the only songs on the album that is hopeful and does not state the fear or toxicity of a relationship. Although one might want to stay in love forever, sometimes staying is not the best option.

Come Down Soon

The message of this song is directed to anyone who is in love but insecure. McAlpine sings about her partner and how they know each other so well, but she still feels like it is bound to end. She doesn’t allow herself to become too comfortable for the fear that the rug will be pulled out from under her. She laughs at his jokes and praises how he knows her so well, but she still finds herself wary of being hurt.

Like It Tends To Do

The love saga ends in this song. McAlpine sings about how her relationship that once held a comfortable and easy love has turned tense and complicated. Every lyric in the chorus is phrased as a question to show her confusion, frustration, and lack of knowledge. The slow instrumentation contributes to her voice being the main event.

Movie Star

Track four explains McAlpines feelings decreasing for her relationship. The first verse and chorus feelings so excited and giddy, almost as if she is a little kid singing about a first crush. By the end of the song, she has realized that maybe this relationship is not as good for her as she once thought. She feels put on a pedestal rather than being seen and starts to question if this is what she genuinely wants.

All Falls Down

This track is full of heartbreaking lyrics with a fun background beat. McAlpine sings about her mental health issues and specific years in her life that had issues hidden behind the scenes. The title seems to be symbolic and relates to when she had to cancel UK and Europe tour dates due to mental health issues. The feelings she describes in this song are suggestive to hopefully shed light on the fact that everyone struggles at some point in their life even if you see it or not.

Staying

This song hits listeners hard as McAlpine sings about second guessing when to leave the relationship. The first verse has incredible lyrics: “Now I’m laying in bed with you / And you’re falling asleep / How can you look so peaceful / When you know I’m gonna leave?” The words are so simplistic but are so realistic. The track is very melancholic and gets listeners deep into their feelings.

I Guess

This track was originally released as a single in March and gives a nice contrast to the collection of anxious songs on the album. This track is the only one on the album, except for “The Elevator,” that sings about being in love in a positive context. It feels like the giddy beginning of a relationship, where she is guessing about the different things that got her to this moment. The outro incorporates fan vocals from her Toronto show as an homage to her supporters.

Drunk, Running

This is another song with a somber piano background and a heartbreaking outro. The track compares her love to her partner’s alcoholism. The soundscape mimics the stability of a relationship going back and forth. The last lyric is the sound of someone saying “I love you” but in reverse, over a violin track and echos of laughter and better times than this.

Broken Glass

This track details a toxic relationship where McAlpine questions why she stayed so long but also acknowledges her faults in the situation. The verses and chorus are matter-of-fact and snarky, while the bridge explodes in a very “Doomsday” pattern, which is a song that was on her last album.

You Forced Me To

This song explains McAlpines reactions to her lover’s poor actions. The backing piano track mimics that of a whirlwind carnival ride, which is definitely on purpose. The tug of war and nauseating realizations of the fact that this in not love is clear, and she claims that he forced her to change out of the loving person she once was.

Older

This track was released as a single in February and it is certainly clear why. The terrifying feeling of growing up, finding love, and losing it, and watching your parents age with you, all while wondering if you are making the right choices as you move along, is something that everyone can relate to.

Better Than This

This song is considered to be extremely hard hitting and relatable for many individuals. She sings lyrics like, “What if I’m not a good person? / You always say that I am / But you don’t really know me at all now.” Her honesty in a point of view that might not be seen in her favor is so respectable and brings a layer of openness to this song. She knows that this is not the best she will ever have but also knows that her partner deserves better than she can give.

March

McAlpine has released songs about her father’s passing in other works, but as someone who has also struggled with the grief of losing a loved one, this track is by far her most accurate. The feeling of desperately searching for lessons, seeing him in places he is not, and wondering when this will finally feel easier is all too familiar. She pours her heart into this song and shows a sense of her grief lingering on the tip of her tongue.

Vortex

This song is stunning both vocally and lyrically. McAlpine’s harmonies and inclusion of instrumentation throughout takes you on a journey along with the relationship in question. You can feel the tension grow as instruments slowly get added to the original track, and she cascades into arguments and screaming matches, knowing that this cannot be what love is. The two are tied together so tightly that they cannot escape each other and keep coming back even though they know it will not work.

Method Acting (Demo)

This track delves into emotional and psychological aspects of method acting. McAlpine explores the concept of immersing oneself deeply into a character’s role, showing how the lines between reality and acting can be easily blurred. The lyrics reflect on the intensity and potential consequences of such a deep level of emotional involvement, capturing the struggles that come with it.

Pushing It Down and Praying

This song deals with the emotional hardships of suppressing feelings and hoping for things to get better. McAlpine discusses the struggle of sensing guilt about not feeling the things that she imagines the other person in the relationship wants. She imagines her previous lover is the one she’s with while sleeping with her new significant other. The past relationship is getting in the way of her ability to enjoy being with someone new.

Soccer Practice

This track is about McAlpine’s imaginative idea of a future with a partner, encompassing the reality of suburban life and the complexities of her emotions as she struggles with both the potential and past. While imagining this future, she also grapples with the possibility of what could have been, revealing a deeper exploration of her emotions and relationships.

Force of Nature

This song is one that shows the struggles of avoiding confrontation with the past and the difficulty of accepting a relationship’s inevitable end, even when it’s foreseen. McAlpine expresses the regret of letting things go and the difficulty of accepting the reality of the situation, even if it is for the best. She now gets to find herself as an individual and not just her past relationship’s former lover.

Spring Into Summer

The last track is a perfect closer to this album, tying up all the tracks about self-reflection, accountability, guilt, blame, love and loss with a ribbon of hope. McAlpine has come to terms with the past and accepted that she will continue returning to her ex-lover. This song seems to have a positive outlook on a choice that some might find wrong or shameful and seems to represent starting over.

Some albums simply have stunning vocals while others have amazing lyricism and storytelling. A few have fantastic instrumentals that convey the artist’s heart and soul. This album truly has it all and is a 10/10. McAlpine has gifted listeners with 19 songs full of angst, heartbreak, and love that all hit close to home. She has found her style and solidified her voice and is no doubt an artist to keep an eye on. It is worth taking a listen to the album and other pieces by McAlpine on streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.