Lizzy McAlpine is an artist I discovered this year. She is also my most listened-to artist of the year, with just over 750 plays – over 150 more than the next, Clairo. These 750 plays are divided between her three studio albums and select singles and EPs. On October 4th, McAlpine added to that discography, releasing a deluxe version of her third studio album, Older – officially titled Older (and Wiser) – containing five new tracks and bolstering an already impressive album. To be frank, Lizzy McAlpine has been the soundtrack of my year, and as that year fully transitions into its winter stage, McAlpine’s presence in my ears only grows stronger on a daily basis.
Older is an album that builds off its predecessors. Her debut, Give Me a Minute, is like the youngest sibling, with soft, simple instrumentals, heartfelt lyrics, and an optimistic opinion on love. Her sophomore effort, five seconds flat, is the middle child, with notably upgraded lyricism, faster instrumentals, and themes of McAlpine’s countless experiences are kept as the focal point.
In contrast, Older is the eldest child – songs like “All Falls Down” (the only real banger of the album’s initial 14 tracks), “Broken Glass,” and “Drunk, Running” feel like diary entries ripped straight out of the mind of a 22-year old in their 2nd semester attending a small liberal college in New York. McAlpine approaches relationships as she always has but carries much less optimism and happiness. In the latter, she sings, “Hold you to your words/Say, “I love you”/And then drink it backwards,” as if she knows that her partner is liable to say the three magic words only under the influence of alcohol.
It’s not just her lyrics that carry a greater weight, though. The instrumentation is delicately crafted to ensure that one’s temperature drops as one listens through the album. On “Like It Tends To Do,” the piano initially takes center stage as McAlpine’s vocals are solemn and subdued before a set of strings that are no less sad join in as McAlpine’s vocals grow in intensity. On “Vortex,” easily the longest song of the entire album, McAlpine and a piano are the only things you hear for the first 4 minutes. “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,” she sings on “Vortex.”
It would be a mistake not to talk about the five new tracks that make Older also Wiser, though. “Method Acting (demo),” a song that touches on the de facto McAlpine facets of relationships (like knowing it’s going to end but doing everything in your power to stop that from happening), is the oldest of all deluxe tracks by a fair margin, as it was recorded in 2022. In contrast, the other four were recorded during the east coast leg of her Older tour earlier this year.
“Pushing It Down and Praying” was the lead single for Older (and Wiser), and with its release came an official music video co-starring fellow musician Role Model. The sexually charged tune starts slow, with her imagining her current partner as someone else – someone she’d much rather be with before the drums eventually kick in, and the song turns a little Americana.
“Soccer Practice” is a guitar-focused ballad that takes from multiple songs on Older to create a heartbreaking final product. Whether it be the lyrical similarities of wanting to find new, meaningful love like “Better Than This” or the reversing of audio to hammer home the sadness like “Drunk, Running,” the song that first teased any idea of an Older deluxe is definitely a highlight.
“Force of Nature” continues the hot streak. In a song first played live during the Older tour, McAlpine focuses on the uncertainty when a long-term relationship ends. The studio version has substantial instrumental changes compared to the live version. She trades the powerful climax that the live version contains for a more subdued final part of the song – a change that, although taking some of the weight and grandeur out of the song, ultimately fits the vibe of Older better.
“Spring Into Summer” is the last of the deluxe tracks and the most upbeat of any track on Older since “All Falls Down.” It contrasts nicely with not only the previous four tracks but Older as a whole; there is optimism in McAlpine’s voice and the instruments surrounding it. She mentions running back to her partner multiple times throughout the song, and yet, this time, it seems like it will be fruitful.
McAlpine’s music has an incredible air of authenticity, one that pulls you in and splashes a bucket of cold water over your face before comforting you with a hot towel. Older is one of my favorite albums of the year because she nails the fine line between these conflicting emotions. She presents herself in a state of emotional disarray because of her relationships, yet I believe she will be okay in the end. She has come out frazzled and shaken, and yet, she has come out older and wiser.
