After the sad yet musically rich summer we just had, with new music from artists like Noah Kahan, Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams, and Olivia Rodrigo, it only seemed fitting for Lizzy McAlpine to carry these gut-wrenching emotions into the fall, which, in my opinion, is the best season for this type of music. Lizzy McAlpine released her fourth album, “Angel,” on September 18th, following the release of a few select songs over the summer, including “Light in the Painting.” The album could not have come at a more fitting time, not only as we transitioned from summer into fall, but also as a new college year began, bringing with it a lot of change. As college students, many of us found connections between McAlpine’s songs and our own experiences, each resonating with us in different ways, as we will describe in the following paragraphs. McAlpine brings together multiple themes and sounds throughout the album, expressing a range of feelings and experiences in ways that ultimately unify listeners from all over.
When I heard Lizzy McAlpine’s cover of “House of the Rising Sun,” I knew something was coming. Potentially a biopic on Joni Mitchell, which I recently discovered is in the works and will star Meryl Streep herself, or something along those lines. It was interesting to see this shift, as McAlpine’s work had leaned more into the “indie folk” sound that has been surging over the past six to ten years. Nevertheless, with her new album, “Angel,” we can see her straying away from this modern genre and instead delving into the roots of folk music, particularly the 1970s sounds that encompass the music of Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. “Car Wash and a Pair of Pants” was the song that made me realize this. The complex chords and unexpected changes in tune and melody made me recognize that, beyond the themes of maturity that we will discuss below, McAlpine is incorporating the idea of growing older and moving away from the teenage roots that once defined her songs. Highly mature and somber chords can also be found in recent songs such as “Peach” and “The Moon.” McAlpine has mentioned Joni Mitchell as one of her main musical influences throughout her career, and this influence is particularly evident in the resemblance between Mitchell’s 1974 album “Court and Spark” and McAlpine’s more recent work. Similar themes emerge in both artists’ music, including freedom, love, and the fame that can be borrowed from past relationships.
McAlpine’s music has also evolved beyond simple guitar fingerpicking into elaborate strumming patterns and tablature, incorporating a wider range of instruments, including the organ, drums, bongos, and melodica. This creates a much fuller sound that resembles the music of the 1970s, further emphasizing her shift toward this older folk tradition. Rather than simply adopting the sound of artists like Mitchell and Baez, McAlpine seems to be drawing from their musical styles to reflect her own growth as an artist. Her newer work feels less rooted in the experiences of adolescence and more concerned with the complexities of growing up, love, and independence. In this sense, the musical changes on her recent album do more than demonstrate her influences; they also reflect the maturity that has come to define her evolving sound.
In 2025, McAlpine starred in the Broadway musical “Floyd Collins,” the true story of a 1925 cave explorer who was trapped 200 feet underground. The show’s music combined folk and bluegrass, creating a unique sound for the stage. Fans of McAlpine have noticed that “Angel” contains similar melodies and musical themes. McAlpine’s connection to theatre is nothing new. She performed at Elsie Fest in 2024, often described as a rooftop “theater Coachella.” McAlpine sang with stars like Rachel Zegler, Derek Klena, and Anaïs Mitchell. In an interview with Elle Magazine, McAlpine mentioned loving “Falsettos” (book by F&M alumni James Lapine) and Dogfight, explaining that her grandmother would take her to see a Broadway show every year, since she was nine years old. Not only does her theatre-like sound symbolize a new chapter in her life, representing her time spent on the Broadway stage. It also signifies a sort of homecoming. McAlpine is coming back to herself, to her roots. Theatre is where her love of music grew, her passion for musical storytelling.
In past works, McAlpine explored themes of anxiety, trauma, and discomfort. “Give Me A Minute” (2020), her studio debut, includes songs that are sweet and light, describing an underlying panic in romantic relationships. Albums like “five seconds flat” (2022) and “Older” (2024) explore similar themes, just more amplified. Darkness comes to the surface where it is more visible and vulnerable. In “Angel,” however, themes are more nuanced. There is no distinct darkness or lightness. Rather, McAlpine focuses on rebirth and healing, even on the thirteenth track. Track 13 on each album, famously, is dedicated to McAlpine’s late father. “The crowd,” Angel’s Track 13, echoes the quiet yearning she feels to have her father there: “Everything I do/I make it big so you can hear the crowd.” Still, even that is somewhat hopeful and suggests that, despite the loss she continues to carry, she is finding ways to move forward while keeping his memory present. In this way, “Angel” does not necessarily abandon the sadness that has characterized much of her earlier work, but instead approaches it from a place of greater acceptance and growth.
Francesca’s Personal Piece
I don’t take talking about “Mason’s Song” lightly, as, to me, it might be the best song on the album, after “Peach.” The song came at a pivotal moment in my life, as transitioning into sophomore year was much harder than I expected. In my mind the title of the song was “Fran’s Song,” as it encompassed much of what I had been feeling towards the middle of the semester. Living alone on campus is not for the weak, as some would say, or at least not easy for people who have shared a room with their twin sister for most of their lives, or 17 years out of the 19 lived. Having a very work-and-responsibilities oriented semester, I felt alone when I arrived at my room, with no company after having a day overflowing with business-like interactions. The constant “how are you doing” and “this is what we’re going to talk about today” interactions got redundant, and I craved to just sit on my rug with my roommates that would last me for the whole year, and those forever nostalgic memories. I craved taking community naps and waking up to tik tok sounds that disturbed my sleep. The desire was attempted to be fulfilled through social media, scrolling through the multiple close friend stories from my friends and classmates about their weekly suite movie nights, but I just found myself feeling isolated and behind. That’s exactly when this song came out.
The line “I can’t do this alone,” made me change my perspective on how my semester was going. It made me realize that amongst the thousands of students who decide to live alone on campus, I was not the only one, and despite that I still had my friends, just not in my tiny four walls that I call my room. It made me realize that it’s ok for me to feel like this, and it is normal to crave this human connection, as McAlpine stated in her song. Her previous lines, “You sound like yourself again,” made me realize that I still have two more years, and that “working on [yourself]” is never something to be ashamed of, but rather proud and embracing. McAlpine uses this theme all across her new album, in songs such as “The Crowd” and “Light in the Painting,” where she embraces this idea of working on yourself yet still craving for human connection, that she says she has found, at least mostly, in a variety of her songs.
Sarah’s Personal Piece
A song on “Angel” that I really connected to was Track 5, “The moon.” I listen to McAlpine’s music with my sister, and we have always found a common thread of moon imagery in our favorite media: from George Melier’s “A Trip to the Moon,” to Panic! At the Disco’s “Northern Downpour.” So, before even listening to the song, we anticipated that it would be our favorite. For me, that could not have been more true. The moon, in this context, symbolizes the magnetic pull that McAlpine feels, towards this specific man and these types of relationships. She sings, “But in the early morning, laying there/The handsome prince and maiden fair/ I am in your debt, I am no freer than the moon.” McAlpine opens with beautiful instrumentation off the bat. The sound is full, with metallic strings that add a whimsical element. This is the expert production of Mason Stoops, who worked with McAlpine on her previous album and has produced the music of sombr, Role Model, and Sarah McLachlan. It combines folk/fantasy sounds with melodies that are familiar to McAlpine.
Not only are the sonics so appealing, but her lyrics are deeply specific. I also consider myself to be a self-sufficient, independent person, but I understand the feeling of losing oneself in emotions. When McAlpine says, “I want to feel like I’m the center and you revolve around me,” she is describing that feeling exactly. She wants to believe that she is stronger than she has been before, but she gets swept up all too easily. It is a beautifully vulnerable piece that reflects on the complexities of loving someone, but not loving who you become when you do.
Ultimately, “Angel” came at a particularly pivotal time, both in McAlpine’s career and for many of the listeners who found themselves connecting to its themes. Released as summer came to an end and a new academic year began, the album captured a period often defined by change, uncertainty, and growing up. Its songs offer different perspectives on these experiences, while McAlpine’s evolving sound reflects her own artistic maturity. In many ways, Angel feels like an album that arrived exactly when it was needed, giving listeners something to turn to during a time of transition.
Sophomore Francesca Rayo is the Managing Editor. Her email is frayogue@fandm.edu.
Sophomore Sarah Henches is the Features Editor. Her email is shenches@fandm.edu.