Review Summary: The best folk-pop album of the year is already here - don't sleep on it.
Female indie artists have enjoyed a massive run of success that syncs up closely with the ongoing pandemic. There's something about emotionally intelligent, thought-provoking and well produced songs that resonates with massive audiences - people need a common voice to draw from to feel comfort and validation. Perhaps starting with the success of
Billie Eilish, we've now seen artists like
Phoebe Bridgers,
Jade Bird and
Julien Baker go from underground sparks to full-on genre leaders. This has paved the way for a new wave of artists to ride the wave to stardom. Philadelphia-born
Lizzy McAlpine certainly falls into that category, as her dynamic approach to what some have called "folk-pop" garnered notoriety on 2020's
Give Me a Minute shined a light on her true potential. Now, with the release of 2022's
five seconds flat, McAlpine has designed an incredibly diverse collection of tracks that showcases the songwriting potential of someone who could very easily break into the mainstream without warning.
Because of the explosion of new talent that's flooded streaming sites, some of these albums are starting to sound as stale as the post-rock boom of the late 2000s. Not so here - McAlpine draws inspiration out of everything from R&B to jazz to heavier indie rock as her powerful vocals act as the founding chain that links it all together. The production choices and innovations here are simply phenomenal and provide an additional layer of re-listenability that isn't always apparent these days - there is something new here to note on each pass through to the end. While a selection of tracks follow a typical
verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure, others build from quiet beginnings to an onslaught of grungy noise (a perfect example being "firearm"). The lyrical subject matter ventures into particularly dark topics of relationship toxicity, lack of control over one's life, and even cuts
"reckless driver" off prematurely as the counterpart character crashes their car. Despite the negative vibes that hang over the ambience like spiderwebs, McAlpine manages to pull off the "cautiously optimistic" tones that so many people are drawn to for comfort in music. It's the idea that even though things are bad now, it doesn't mean they will be bad forever.
At just 23, McAlpine has as bright a future as any young artist in the indie scene today. She has already broken through the surface of the streaming community and collaborations with high-profile artists like
FINNEAS certainly helps with carrying that momentum forward. While it's not going to outright dominate the charts like a release from
Billie Eilish, it's not out of the realm of possibility that McAlpine could soon find herself widely lumped into that upper tier of artists. Her songwriting is as impressive as any I've heard in her age group, and the added bonus of innovative production only helps her to stand out from the legions of similar artists with mutual goals.
five seconds flat is an absolute diamond in the rough that will strike a chord in the hearts of anyone that is a fan of this style of music, and it should serve as a springboard towards bigger and better things in the years to come.
