There are some artists we turn to when we can’t put our feelings into words. For fans of Lizzy McAlpine, this usually involves finding comfort in songs that hurt a little. Her music makes room for overthinking, missing someone and wishing things had turned out differently. But “Angel” includes something different too: the possibility that love can be comforting, even when life is complicated.
Released on Sept. 18, Angel brings this possibility into focus. When announcing the album, McAlpine explained that she wanted the record to give listeners hope through personal growth and change. This intention offers a way to understand the album’s sadness. Hope does not have to arrive only after all the painful emotions have left.
Two songs that illustrate this balance are “Over Country” and “The Crowd.” The first finds reassurance in being loved across distance, while the second reaches out to someone who can no longer reply. Together, they make hope and heartache feel closely connected.
The Reassurance of “Over Country”
In “Over Country,” McAlpine returns to the idea that “someone loves me.” This simple phrase forms the emotional core of the song. It is reassuring to hear love expressed with such certainty, particularly when so many love songs revolve around questioning another person’s feelings.
The song uses images of distance, travel and familiar places. Its hope comes from the idea that a connection can remain steady even when someone’s surroundings change. Being far away does not automatically mean becoming less important to the people who love you.
This idea feels particularly relevant in college. Moving away can make you miss ordinary things you had barely considered before, such as a familiar drive, someone being in the next room or knowing exactly what home sounds like. There is excitement in building a life somewhere new, but there can also be a quiet fear that you are leaving parts of yourself behind.
“Over Country” offers reassurance across distance. Its lyrics leave room to think about a partner, a friend or family members. You do not have to know exactly whom McAlpine had in mind to appreciate the comfort of believing that someone’s love can reach you wherever you end up.
The Ache of “The Crowd”
“The Crowd” explores connection through absence. Addressed to McAlpine’s late father, the song considers memories she cannot fully recover, questions she wishes she could ask and things she wishes she had said.
What makes its sadness so affecting is how specific those regrets are. You can miss someone and also wish you knew more about them. The song makes room for both feelings, including the frustration of learning about someone you love through other people’s stories.
Her achievements become part of that grief too. Wanting to make a parent proud is familiar, but wanting that recognition from someone who cannot be there makes it especially painful. Success carries a sense of absence alongside the celebration.
Making Room for Both
Together, these songs suggest that growing up involves carrying different kinds of love at once. Some relationships give us somewhere to return. Others continue through memories, unanswered questions and the desire to make someone proud.
That is what makes “Angel” worth spending time with. Its hopeful moments do not make the sad ones feel out of place. Instead, they give them company. There is room to miss someone while appreciating the people who are here and to feel grateful without feeling completely fine.
For listeners who connect with McAlpine’s sadder music, that offers its own comfort. On Angel, hope feels possible because heartache is allowed to remain part of the story.
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