Lizzy McAlpine releases her second album titled ‘Five Seconds Flat.’
Budding artist Lizzy McAlpine released her sophomore album titled “Five Seconds Flat” on April 8 and it did not disappoint. The Pennsylvania native crafted a fourteen-track album following her stories and experiences with heartbreak. The album release was accompanied by a nearly thirty-minute short film enhancing the same storyline. With high-profile features from Finneas to Jacob Collier, the album may propel the emerging indie singer into further stardom.
In a male-dominated industry, female songwriters like McAlpine stand out. On “Five Seconds Flat,” every song without a featured artist is written solely by McAlpine. When University of Southern California researchers compared over 900 of the most popular songs released between 2012 and 2020, they found that only 21.6% of musicians and 12.6% of songwriters were women.
Writing much of the album herself, McAlpine crafts a cohesive story, as she follows her own story rather than someone else’s. She appears to have intentionally placed each of the tracks to depict a relationship that falls apart. What makes this heartbreak album so special is the perspective McAlpine takes through many of the tracks. In this story, McAlpine feels less invested in the relationship but its downfall still affects her deeply.
“Doomsday” opens the album with the line “pull the plug in September,” a harsh description of a breakup. The album continues to reflect on her past relationships until interrupted by “called you again,” where McAlpine describes falling into old patterns of relying on an ex-boyfriend after parting ways.
The end of the album feels much lighter.
McAlpine takes listeners back to the place she fell in love in “orange show speedway,” and while she still misses that particular lover, she begins to associate the place with a positive memory with her best friends.
While the heartbreak McAlpine describes is far from over, listeners can hear her begin to heal throughout the record.
McAlpine’s debut album, “Give Me A Minute,” released in 2020, had a very indie sound with many acoustic songs and minimal production on most tracks. “Five Seconds Flat” is much more heavily produced and has a significantly different sound compared to her last album.
The singer takes inspiration from her high school theater roots throughout this record. Mixing an indie style with musical theater and rock elements gives “Five Seconds Flat” a unique and passionate sound.
“Doomsday” and “called you again” stand out as the most musical theater-esque tracks on the album. Both songs feature intense build-ups that sound as though they belong on a Broadway stage. “Firearm” includes many rock components near the end of the song. McAlpine manages to meld these different styles together seamlessly.
Before the full album was released, McAlpine released five singles that accurately captured the essence of the album: “doomsday,” “erase me (feat. Jacob Collier),” “all my ghosts,” “reckless driving (feat. Ben Kessler)” and “hate to be lame (feat. Finneas). These singles appear to be some of the strongest songs on the album but, after re-listening multiple times, my favorites have shifted a bit. Before the album release, I preferred “all my ghosts” and “reckless driving,” however, “called you again,” “chemtrails” and “orange show speedway” topped those singles.
In an early screening of “Five Seconds Flat, the film,” McAlpine revealed that one line in “orange show speedway” sums up the theme of the album.
“When you’re racing head-first towards something that’ll kill you in five seconds flat,” she sings. “When I’m racing head-first towards everything that I want back.”
Because of the record’s concept, the album falls perfectly into my “pull at my heartstrings why don’t you” playlist.
After waiting an excruciating two years for another full album from McAlpine, I felt nervous that she would leave her indie roots behind. Hearing and relistening to the record, that did not happen. Instead, she found her distinct place in the indie music scene and made one of the most carefully designed albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.