After two years of hiatus, Lizzy McAlpine is back with her fourth album, Angel. Coming off the heels of her previous album, Older, McAlpine was not only trending on social media but also stepping into acting. In 2025, she booked her first ever Broadway role with star Jeremy Jordan in the folk musical, Floyd Collins, alongside a featured role in the television show, School Spirits. With new experiences came new music, and McAlpine shocked fans with a significant tonal change in her newest album. Dubbed one of the faces of “sad girl music”, many were surprised at the concept of the “Vortex” singer writing happier love songs. For McAlpine, a love album was all encompassing, featuring representation of romantic love, platonic relationships, familial bonds, and of course, her bond with her fandom. The latter inspired the creation of The Angel Club, a unique personalized experience where anyone could sign up to become a pen pal of hers. Letters exchanged share musings about love, loss, change, and the cycle of life, and countless lucky fans were able to receive album hints through their handwritten correspondence. The Angel Club provided the opportunity for many to connect with the album before it was released on September 18th, allowing for a personalized connection to the project. Given the intimate nature of this project, fan speculation and McAlpine herself have already contributed to discourse about the meaning behind each track on the album.
the light in the painting
The first single released for the Angel album, “The light in the painting” was a transformative release for McAlpine as well as her dedicated fans. “The light in the painting” set the tone for the Angel album, establishing a significant shift from McAlpine’s past albums about breakups or lost love. One of her happiest releases to date, McAlpine utilized this swoony love song as a chance to “hard-launch” her boyfriend, Kane Ritchotte, as her love interest in the music video. The release of this older SoundCloud track was met with excitement, with fans especially happy to see their favorite heartwrenching lyricist finding joy and security in a relationship.
anybody’s fool
In an album centered around love and relationships, “Anybody’s Fool” is one of the very few tracks to follow the tragedy of a lost relationship. The lyrics are profound, acknowledging McAlpine’s ability to separate her personal sadness over the breakup with its necessity. She contrasts her difficult feelings in the lyrics “I know this is right and I know that it’s sad/Want you to want me again like that/I like the way it feels to not be anybody’s fool,”. Emotional and honest, this track is already a personal favorite of mine.
a car wash and a new pair of pants
Often performed by McAlpine at shows or online prior to its release, this folky track is a criticism of a lover who is more interested in material possessions and status than the relationship itself. It is rumored to be written about McAlpine’s ex-boyfriend, Michael Hanano, especially with the lyric, “But you hate that they’re all saying something/Now that you are not mine anymore” relating back to her fans’ harsh words for him post breakup. The song itself has fans speculating inspiration from her musical theater background, but McAlpine also spoke candidly about copyright issues on this piece. Prior to its debut, a friend of hers compared the sound of this track to “One of These Things First” by Nick Drake. Admitting she was unfamiliar with Drake’s version, McAlpine chose to credit him with songwriting. With plagiarism accusations consistent in the music industry, McAlpine’s graceful approach to this common problem is a model for younger artists to follow.
i have a friend
Swoon-worthy and melodic, “I have a friend” is a song that aims for perfection, with each lyric as notable as the last. With fans speculating that it is about her current boyfriend, Kane Ritchotte, the song cycles through the simple joy of being in love with someone you also consider your best friend. This track became her attempt at a “classic love song”, with themes of a comforting domestic life with someone you adore. It is one of the most romantic songs she has ever written, especially with the lyrics, “I want the rest of my life/To look like this forever/There is no hand I could hold/That would feel any better,”.
the moon
Filled with beautiful imagery, “The moon” is about falling into a relationship that consumes you. McAlpine grapples with autonomy over her own feelings, singing “I want to feel like I’m the center and you revolve around me/But I am only as strong as one girl can be,”. She compares budding love to the moon – a natural, uncontrollable phenomenon. With this, she implores her lover to “be more than just a man”, meeting the standards of her passion and validating her feelings for him beyond just being a crush.
ugly things
Another personal favorite, “Ugly Things” begins as a sweet tribute before morphing into a heartsick love ballad. Purposefully misleading, McAlpine sneakily teased only the first verse of this song, causing fans to debate over the emotion behind the song. Her release, complete with a home video, sealed the track’s fate as a tragic love song, leaving the theme of the upcoming album itself murky. “Ugly Things” details the fresh pain of a breakup, with the chorus proclaiming, “all the ugly things will come back around/wish they made me not love you/wish they made you love me too,”. This single led to confusion and further fan speculation about the album as a whole, since McAlpine is best known for her sadder releases.
soldier of the road
The only collaboration on the album, McAlpine joins forces with folk band Fleet Foxes to accompany her haunting vocals on this gorgeous track. Drawing comparisons to the musical Hadestown, this mystical track is about McAlpine’s struggles with being on tour. She has spoken openly and previously written about the toll touring takes on her mental and physical health, reiterating this through the lyrics, “they never let you out of the big wheel, turning/They ring you ‘til you’re dry/there is no love, there is no sky”. This song’s presence on the album is important, especially when rumors arose that McAlpine did not plan to take Angel on the road.
peach
One of the shortest tracks on the album, “Peach” contrasts McAlpine’s celebrity life with her regular one. The song features imagery of cutting a peach in preparation for a meal pit against playing personal songs for a crowd of thousands. “Peach” has McAlpine coming to terms with a life that will constantly be split, as she sings, “In sync, we balance our lives together/you show me how to better/I understand now that this is all there is/A peach, a moment to love myself better.” In an interview with Nylon, McAlpine revealed that this track dawned on her post breakup, when she began to reflect on her own free will outside of relationships and touring.
over country
Written during her time in Floyd Collins, “Over country” has already become an instant classic. Although the song is about the long distance relationship between Lizzy and her partner, many listeners have connected this song back to their families and friends while miles away from home. It’s a track that is deeply comforting to students far from their hometown, but it seems to have a special effect on those who have left home for college for the first time, as shown by countless social media posts. “Over country” features some of the most profoundly beautiful lyrics on the album, such as “someone loves me over what he does not understand/I know,” and “to the words of a song/in the holding of hands/and the way the guitar plays this tune/I can hear you,”. Overall, the song is heartfelt in its depiction of unconditional love through some of my favorite lyrics from McAlpine to date, marking it a high point on the album.
two elevens
Containing plentiful references to older songs, “Two elevens” is about peacefully coming to terms with the end of a relationship, gracefully accepting its high points and pitfalls. The track is rumored to be written about her photographer ex-boyfriend whose work contributed greatly to the promotion of her album Older, specifically the cover art for her lead single, “I Guess”. McAlpine acknowledges that, “there was love once/there was fire,” reflecting on her past without resentment. Additionally, this song is named for angel numbers, relating back to the album’s title as well as its themes of fate and love beyond control.
our strange ways
The longest track on the album, with a run time of seven minutes and twenty-three seconds, “Our strange ways” details the intimacy of distance from a beloved muse. It is possible that this track is inspired by McAlpine’s greatest musical inspiration, Joni Mitchell, as the initial lyrics appear to reference her pianist’s time on Mitchell’s tour, asserting, “I am over the sea and far away/With my eyes on the target/And I sing my songs for you,”. However, the focus seems to take a romantic turn with the lyrics, “If you were someone else/If I had stayed/We would be strangers/In our strange ways,”. Without a confirmed meaning, “Our strange ways” allows for fans to explore plenty of possible interpretations.
mason’s song
Named for her dear friend and collaborator, Mason Stoops, this song details the almost familial relationship they share. In an interview with Nylon, McAlpine reveals that this track was inspired by one of the worst arguments they’d ever had. While writing songs for Angel at Mason’s Altadena home, Lizzy became easily frustrated with the howling sound of wind in the background of all of their recordings. With her perfectionism stirring a fight, Lizzy left and sat outside his house to calm herself; later on, the same wind carried a fire to Mason’s home, burning it to rubble. Produced by the pair, “Mason’s song” is an anthem of appreciation for her longtime friend and an assertion of his importance in her life. Mason Stoops echoes the sentiment in the outro, lending his vocals to sing “I can’t do it alone” alongside her.
the crowd
Following her pattern of dedicating each 13th track to her late father, “The crowd” is one of her more devastating songs on the record. The opening chords are reminiscent of the title track on her previous album, Older, another song about her life after the greatest loss she has suffered. The similar chords produce a similar feeling of melancholy, especially for me, as a huge fan of “Older”. In this track, McAlpine cites her dad as her greatest motivation to truthfully portray her art, with the lyrics, “everything I do/I do so I can make you proud/Everything I do/I make it big so you can hear the crowd,”. In the past, she has spoken about her difficulty performing songs about his death, especially after a 2022 incident where several fans left right before she played a song dedicated to him.
angel
Pure and simple, “Angel” is a romantic closing track, drawing on themes of fated love to encompass the entire album. Likely about Kane Ritchotte, this swoony closer centers true love and destiny. “I have always been waiting here/Just to be your lover,” McAlpine sings while detailing the magical nature of being in love. Sharing a name with the album, “Angel” encompasses the many differing definitions of love that McAlpine shifts through on the piece. Ending the album on a happy note is newer territory for McAlpine and it demonstrates the hopeful beginning of a new era in her life.
From when I first discovered “ceilings” to the release of Older right before my seventeenth birthday, Lizzy McAlpine has always been an artist who has meant a lot to me. Her raw lyricism and emotional honesty are perfect representations of my own teenage experience, and Angel is no different. It is a rare feat for a songwriter so known in the “sad girl” subgenre to find success with a love album, but McAlpine’s connection to fans, even as she rises to new heights of stardom, is paramount.