I have never awaited an album like I have this one. Lizzy McAlpine’s first album, Give Me a Minute, quickly became one of my favorite albums of all time, not only getting me through a very hard time and summing up the words I always wanted to say, but saying them so poetically, completely understanding the feelings that I was feeling so deeply. McAlpine’s music is crafted so personally, but the lyrics are written so deeply to the core of the emotion that it is universally felt by her fanbase. I was completely blown away by all of her previous discography, so I knew that this album was going to be fantastic.
McAlpine released lots of singles for this album, and they only progressively got better as time went on. It was obvious she was sticking to her dense lyricism, but also adding different elements to her musicality. Five Seconds Flat did not follow her simplistic acoustic style, but brought a wide range of alt-rock and indie pop sounds that you would hear from a whole band, matching her dense lyrics with a dense score.
The album overall felt like the stages of someone finding themself and finding hope again in love after a long time of hurting over the same person. This felt like a natural progression from her last album, proving herself a storyteller. In my opinion, this is a no skip album. Every song is good and tells a different story in a way that feels authentic. However, I also think that there should not be any skips because it tells her story and emotional journey chronologically. With that being said, I do believe that there are some outstanding songs on the album that need to be highlighted, so I am going to be giving the Top 5 songs from this album the appreciation they deserve.
1. Called You Again
Favorite Lyric: “So I’ll make my bed, and sleep in it alone, because I never know when we’re done talking”
This song is a little too relatable for me, so I may have a bias. Nevertheless, this song hits too close to home, so it has to rank number one. This song outlines an on-and-off relationship where one of the people cannot seem to let go, but the other one always lets her back in and again, encouraging the relationship even if they are not the right ones for each other. McAlpine also paints herself as the villain and feeling guilty in the relationship and in how it ended, even if every relationship is truly two-sided in its fault. I think that the way the song builds into almost anxiety-inducing with its chords, then with a heavy let-down is the perfect way to describe this type of relationship. I think it describes the double-sided awkwardness of a broken, but trying relationship with the strange familiarity of talking to someone you used to love. I have always had a problem with letting go and giving second chances, returning to all of my relationships at least once to check the possibilities again, even if it crashes and burns yet again. This song depicts the raw emotion behind this phenomenon.
2. Firearm
Favorite Lyric: “What a joke, was it all just an act? I hate that it took me so long to react”
This is the quintessential break up song. It encompasses the initial sadness of losing someone you really care about and wanting things to change. However, in the middle of the song, the entire vibe shifts to hard rock music instead of mellow strongs. McAlpine then explains the rage part of a breakup, being angry at the person who caused you emotional frustration, wishing you had done something different before they were able to hurt you first. I love this song because McAlpine explains the part of a breakup where you act like you don’t care, and then depicts the deep down anger and confusion underneath the part of you trying to heal. This song exemplifies the message that feeling these ugly feelings are just part of the process of moving on and learning while loving.
3. All My Ghosts
Favorite Lyric: “I hate all my habits, but I happen to love you”
This song is an outlier from the sad girl music so far, explaining how it feels to love someone after being unable to for so long due to the last heartbreak you felt. While she describes how she fell for someone, she also interjects about how she is afraid her past hurts and heartbreaks will get in the way, scaring her away from another potential relationship. The juxtaposition of talking about random moments that made her feel secure, leading up to finally being able to see herself in the future with another person with the ending of her explaining that her ghosts held her back yet again from a loving moment with a person is heartbreaking. However, the fact that this song exists on the album proves that she is growing from the past, passing her hope to all of us hopeless romantics as well.
4. Reckless Driving ft. Ben Kessler
Favorite Lyric: “You love me like that, you’re a reckless driver, and one day it’ll kill us if I don’t let go”
When this came out as a single, I had it on repeat for a whole week. I had been waiting for this song to come out for almost a year when she initially posted a version of it on her Tik Tok. This song is perfect in every way, and it would be number one if it was only her singing on it. While I enjoy a two-perspective song, I think it takes me out of her amazing songwriting. However, this song still holds as one of the best ones because it depicts the story of two lovers who can’t seem to find balance, but don’t want to let go even when they know how it ends. I think it explains two people with very different outlooks and attachment styles trying to love, but not being able to. The ending cuts off very abruptly, explaining that the boy’s “reckless driving” or unstable way of loving, ended in ruin.
5. Orange Show Speedway
Favorite Lyric: “I think it all kinda feels like an Orange Show Speedway when you’re racing head first towards something that will kill you in five seconds flat”
This is the happiest song on the album and also the conclusion of the album. It is literally a reflection song, depicting how she has changed in the past couple of years, looking back and being able to smile that she lived and learned. She seems happy she fell in love instead of remiss. It proves that this album is all about growth and her story from falling in love, to getting her heart broke, to finally being able to look back and see that it was all worth it in the end. This song is the perfect conclusion, adding in the most pop vibe to the album and creating a fun vibe for the end to a generally sad album.
I would recommend this album to anyone, but in particular I think that anyone who has felt these emotions would definitely be interested to see how it can emotionally fulfill you to hear your innermost thoughts sung back to you in a poetic way. This album changed the music game this month, and I am happy to say I bought tickets to see her on tour. Five Seconds Flat is a masterpiece through and through.