Lizzy McAlpine Returns with Light and Love in New Single “The light in the painting”

In a year where it felt like every major artist had made their return, one was missing. That is until now. Lizzy McAlpine, the blueprint of the singer-songwriter sad girl genre, is back with a not so sad single for her upcoming fourth studio album Angel due September 18. 

First teased on July 17 during a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, track one “The light in the painting” is a fluttery and airy lullaby. “You are the light in the painting, painting / You are the light in the painting / that my eye is drawn to first” she sings after a heavy yet not overpowering synth introduction. The song was written backstage at her show in San Francisco in 2024, but scrapped for a while until she revisited, ultimately deciding it the perfect entrance into the world she has built around the new album. 

Devastating yet not about heartbreak, the song explores love being a blinding light, while also being something so delicate and sacred just as the production feels alongside her words. Subtle synths and light harmonies hug the listener all around. It almost floods the sense, as she sings “Meet me where I’ve always been / feel the lightning on my skin / time moves slower in a time like this/ I stand there blinded by it.” Could love this blinding be dangerous? 

The song builds subtly with the combination of folk like guitar picking and classical piano until it releases with an unfolding drum snare and stacked harmonies as she admits, “If somewhere there is a heaven / this is as close as I will get.” It is as if all the overwhelming love you have for someone has boiled up and overflowed, unable to keep it all inside. Every word of this song is affectionate, not shying away from the soul-crushing feeling that is being so deeply in love. And if every one of the 14 tracks on this album sound just as good as this, we are in for a treat.

If you have someone you love and who feels like heaven, whether it be a significant other, friends or family, this is one to share. You can stream “The light in the painting” wherever you find your music and pre-save Angel coming September 18.