Lizzy McAlpine’s ‘Angel’; Heartbreak and Healing
When a soaring voice meets technical talent. When raw lyricism meets singular production choices. When fighting hard for your artistic vision turns into newfound confidence in oneself, you get Lizzy McAlpine’s newest album, Angel. The making of her fourth studio album was another journey in finding herself not only as an artist, but as a person.
Her previous album Older was the groundwork for her to move forward. Alongside her bandmates and friends, including previous collaborators Mason Stoops and Taylor Mackall, she has created a cohesive body of work. She explained to Dork Magazine that she had 16 songs ready to produce prior to her Broadway debut in Floyd Collins in April 2025, but the universe halted her process. That break from her own music resulted in more experiences, more inspirations, and more songs created. Those new songs became important puzzle pieces added to what became Angel.
The album begins with the first single, “The light in the painting” which was meant to highlight the feeling of fire at the start of a new relationship. This song is the most hopeful song we’ve heard from her, but she still has some hard hitters, as seen immediately with keyboard-heavy track 2, “Anybody’s fool.” She wrote it after driving past her ex’s house and realizing he was seeing someone new. This relatable stomach drop of accepting an ending is on full display with the lyrics “Want to move on / And I’m trying to / But when the bombs hit / I look for you.”
Lizzy is known for sharing her songs before they have any plans of being attached to a project, and Track 3 “A car wash and a new pair of pants” is no exception. Surrounded by a full band, it seems to be angrier, lyrically tearing into someone who was just using her for what she could give them: “fame and glory.” She pleads in the bridge, “I feel so used / Lied to, betrayed / Who was I with? / Where is his soul, his conscience / Always tried to keep fame as your mistress / I just loved you.” What follows feels like a complete 180. She pivots to a traditional love song, “I have a friend.” Airy guitar plucking paired with echoing piano gives it a fairytale-like feeling.
The most upbeat track comes from track 5, “The moon,” followed by the second single, track 6, “Ugly things.” “The moon” has an undeniable groove, while “Ugly things” starts slow with a few piano notes, plucking guitar, and builds to a cathartic release. The post-breakup song sings “Wish they made me not love you / Wish they made you love me too.”
Track 7, “Soldier of the road,” features Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and is a standout track thematically. This isn’t about heartbreak, or friendship, or the typical topics that she’s explored thus far, but a reflection on feelings about touring after she experienced performing on Broadway for several months, and this sounds heavily inspired by the folky score of her debut musical. “We let it take its toll / Say, you know that’s rock and roll / And once you get a taste / They never let you out.” The duo seamlessly blend together, creating harmonies that could haunt.
The second half of the album weighs a bit more emotionally. Track 8 “Peach” isn’t about loss or heartbreak, but rather the realization of free will. It’s vocally exceptional, belting in desperation to be heard, and you can clearly hear her Broadway training shine. While on Broadway, she wrote “Over country,” a fan favorite. While away from home, she felt compelled to write about all forms of love, even from far away. She performed it live prior to revealing Angel’s tracklist, and fans grabbed onto it quickly, relating to the sentiment. She sings “I can try my best to be far from home / But no matter where it will find me / Over country.” Track 10 shifts back to a post-breakup song “Two elevens.” A steady guitar melody carries as McAlpine’s vocoder vocals sing “I don’t blame you / I don’t blame me / I am older / And I’m sorry.”
Now, Lizzy McAlpine is not one to shy away from a challenge. And the challenge at hand, she set herself: write a long song. This inspiration came from a pinnacle idol of hers, Joni Mitchell, whose influence you can hear melted into this whole album. “Our strange ways” stretches seven minutes and twenty-three seconds long, and is a masterclass in both lyricism and technical song structure. Synths, guitar, drums, and what seems to be a sneaky voice memo at the end guide the lyrics: “A world without you is not one I want to live in.” A song this masterful could not be done without the collaboration of the subject of the following song, guitarist and co-producer Mason Stoops.
You may know Stoops from other artists like Role Model or Jake Minch, but “Mason’s song” proves the relationship between McAlpine and Stoops is far more than work. She has described them as being like brother and sister, and the two have endured quite a handful of hardships together, including the loss of Mason’s home studio due to the Pasadena fires last year. The album was only two days in the making before that tragedy struck, and she left for Broadway with the album on pause. This was one of the songs she shared while in New York, and it is a beautiful ode to their friendship. “I sing for myself / I am a better friend / You sound like yourself again.”
If that song didn’t make you cry, next is her traditional track 13. For those who may not know, she’s vowed to make every track 13 on any project about the loss of her father. This tradition includes previous releases "Headstones and Landmines,” “chemtrails” and “March.” This album’s addition is “The crowd,” a gut-wrenching and heavy piano ballad where she gets raw: "Everything I do / I do so I can make you proud / Everything I do / I make it big so you can hear the crowd”
The album closes with the title track “Angel,” a gorgeous, band-filled closer. Steel, drums, and more wrap you up in a final hug. The final line, she says, is the thesis statement of the record, “Smile at her through the glass / Home and free / I have always been here waiting / Just to be.” This growth she endured is so evident throughout this album.
Life is a constant learning curve, and we are so lucky to have Lizzy McAlpine as the soundtrack to get us through. You can stream Angel wherever you listen to your music now.
