Lizzy McAlpine, the artist making confessional songs about coming of age

If you were on TikTok at all last year, chances are you have heard Lizzy McAlpine’s music. For months, the app was flooded with videos soundtracked to her most viral record “Ceilings”. In the song’s hook, she sings: “It’s over / Then you’re drivin’ me home / And it kinda comes out as I get up to go / You kiss me in your car / And it feels like the start of a movie I’ve seen before”. While the track welcomed an eclectic new audience of teenage girls and baseball players participating in a dramatic running trend, McAlpine has been steadily growing a loyal fanbase since her first EP when she was 18.

Now for her third studio album, Older, McAlpine channelled the whirlwind of a past relationship as inspiration. With its delicate blend of melancholic piano, strings, and dreamy lap steel instrumentals, the album captures the highs and lows of McAlpine’s journey through life-changing transitions. From moving to Los Angeles to navigating the complexities of fame and love, McAlpine’s introspective songwriting offers a raw and honest reflection of her experiences. Recorded with a live band in the studio, the audio captures the raw vocals and subtle background creaks, creating a truly immersive listening experience.

While coming-of-age is usually associated with adolescence, at 24, McAlpine used this record to invite her fans into the realities she discovered transitioning into adulthood. An album made to be listened to in order, McAlpine intentionally arranged the songs to mirror the narrative arc of a tumultuous relationship and its aftermath. In the first half of the album, she questions various aspects of the relationship’s breakdown. On the title track, ‘Older’, the story takes a turn and McAlpine begins to offer reflection on growth and self-discovery. As well as marking a sonic change in the project, she notes that it was the first ‘non-breakup’ song on the project that she included.

In the three songs that follow and close the album, she delves into the loss of her father, as well as grappling with self-worth, lyrically, it’s McAlpine at her best. The closing song, “Vortex” is a gutwrenchingly vulnerable and emotive resolution to Older’s tale.

Below she told us about the process behind working on the album, her internet obsessions and what she hopes people take away from her new record.

What is your earliest music memory?

Lizzy McAlpine: Sitting at my grandma’s piano and teaching myself how to play.

When did you first become aware of the power of good music? What song could you not stop playing growing up?

Lizzy McAlpine: When my mom would play Broadway songs in the car. We listened to the Wicked soundtrack on repeat.

What was the inspiration behind the album?

Lizzy McAlpine: I started by writing about a cyclical relationship that felt like it would never end, and by the end of the process it became about growing up and figuring things out and knowing way more but also not knowing anything at all.

How different did it feel to work on this album versus your last two projects?

Lizzy McAlpine: This process was the complete opposite of my last two albums. We sat in a room for two weeks, recorded a bunch of stuff live and then mixed the whole thing. It was less produced and perfected and more organic and natural.

What do you hope people take away from the album?

Lizzy McAlpine: I hope people feel the passion and emotion in the songs. That’s what I was chasing for the last three years, and that’s what really drives my career and my music in general. Emotion.

Which was the hardest song to write and which one is your current favourite?

Lizzy McAlpine: All of these songs were extremely easy to write, because they just happened. I never have to think too hard about it. There were some though that were a beast to produce and to mix. My current favourite is ‘Staying’.

Please share the most recent note from your Notes app?

Lizzy McAlpine: The last thing I wrote in my Notes app was a to-do list.

What is the last meme you saved?

Lizzy McAlpine: I don’t really save memes lol, I just take funny pictures of my friends and make stickers out of them.

The worst advice you’ve ever been given?

Lizzy McAlpine: I don’t think I’ve gotten any bad advice and if I have I’ve blocked it out.

What’s your star sign and are you a typical one of that star sign? (Or, if you’re a real astrohead, can you share your ‘big three’?)

Lizzy McAlpine: Virgo Sun, Aquarius Moon, Sagittarius Rising, and those all definitely check out.

What’s your weirdest internet obsession?

Lizzy McAlpine: It’s not weird but I love watching ASMR. It’s just the best.

What’s on your For You Page right now?

Lizzy McAlpine: I just checked and it’s food.