By Hannah Wolke, Staff Writer 

Singer-songwriter and Philadelphia native Lizzy McAlpine released her newest heartbreaking album “Angel” last Friday, Sept. 18. 

“Angel” cultivates her folk style and raw emotions, focusing on her realization that growing up can be whimsical and that she is comfortable in that lifestyle.  

Her first song, “The light in the painting,” was released as a single on July 23 after the initial album announcement on July 20. Hearing it again, together with the whole album, made up the storyline that Lizzy takes the listener through about young adulthood. With emotions of grief to joy to all the in-between, she asserts that these feelings continue in a cycle. 

Her song “Ugly Things” describes the feeling of hoping her ex’s flaws would finally let her move on. Spoiler alert: it is not that easy. Listening to this song made me realize how intense girlhood can be and how we can relate to so many intricate experiences even when every situation can be vastly different. This song was also released as a single. 

It truly felt like a McAlpine album when this song opened with soft but sparse guitar riffs. It makes me truly feel like I am in a 

McAlpine autumn that is about to brew again. 

McAlpine felt more ambitious about her intentions for this album, in my opinion. She introduced new chord progressions and amplified them with her theatrical taste in songs like “the moon” and the second half of “Peach.” 

After hitting billboard charts for her hit single “ceilings” from her second studio album “five seconds flat,” the artist has been seen in the Broadway musical “Floyd Collins” with Jeremy Jordan, performed at the Tony Awards and was featured in an indie film, “Only What We Carry,” about life in Normandy, France.  

After diving into the musical album for “Floyd Collins,” I really did not anticipate how much the Appalachian folk tunes thrive within this album. Her song “A car wash and a pair of pants” is a perfect example of how she incorporated her recent success into a big project. 

The title track “Angel” is one of my favorites from the album. It sounds like a combination of many songs from her debut album “Give Me A Minute” which is so nostalgic for me. 

I love whenever McAlpine drops a new album because you can just hear how much more comfortable, she is, diving deeper into her experiences and her voice. Her vocals are just gorgeous, and the indie vibe she has kept for her whole career is doing her great favors for riffs and fun vocal flux. 

I had very high hopes for this album as a McAlpine fan since her 2020 album “Give Me A Minute” was released. It definitely did not disappoint. “Older” was not my favorite album of hers since it is raw and emotional, although I like more of her upbeat emotional songs like on “five seconds flat.” 

Overall, “Angel” really feels like McAlpine is starting to cope with the events in her life in a new and healthy way that is still heartbreaking but beautiful. I encourage everyone to take a listen to “Angel” to understand how much relatability we all have, even in small, seemingly unique moments.