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Feb 16, 2024 By Chris Tinkham Photography by baeth

On Tuesday, Lizzy McAlpine announced the April 5 release of her third album, Older, by sharing its title track on streaming platforms. Last night, the singer/songwriter released a bucolic, home-movie styled lyric video for “Older” where she lightheartedly roams about trees and green fields in a white dress, plays with dogs and takes a dip in a lake.

The video’s images contrast with the somber tone of the stripped-down, voice-piano-electric guitar ballad. The song begins with the well-worn metaphor of a carnival ride to detail a turbulent relationship in limbo. A departure might be pending, but the narrator seems surprised that it has not happened yet. She wants to know how it ends. This begs questions. Are they prolonging something that she views as doomed? Or does she feel that she has no control or influence over what happens next?

Then comes a reveal in the lyrics: “Mom’s getting older/I’m wanting it back/Where no one is dying/And no one is hurt/And I have been good to you/Instead of making it worse.”

Is this rather a song about family? Sickness? Or is it indeed about a romantic relationship, where the narrator is expressing regret over actions that she thought were enough to drive someone away?

Initially, there are hints of country in McAlpine’s gentle, controlled vocals before she explores new melodic avenues and adds variations to the second run of the chorus. The recording is so intimate that we hear creaking under the motions of the performers.

According to McAlpine, the song was completed quickly, and this recording is a third take. She posted on social media that she was stressed out while making Older (her debut for RCA Records) but did not compromise.

“This album took me three years to get right,” she says. “The song ‘Older’ specifically was the moment it all started to come together in my head.”

McAlpine produced Older with Mason Stoops (Ryan Beatty, Del Water Gap), with additional production by Ryan Lerman of Scary Pockets, Jeremy Most (Emily King, Norah Jones), and Tony Berg (Taylor Swift, Boygenius). It was recorded in Los Angeles.

“To me, this album represents who I’ve become over the past three years,” says McAlpine. “Through the long and mostly tumultuous journey of making it, I have learned who I am as a person, who I want to be as an artist and what kind of art I want to make. This album is a culmination of that growth, showcasing the rawest and most honest version of me.”

She adds: “The music that I’ve released up to this point in my career has been heavily produced and perfected, to the point where I don’t even recognize myself in it anymore. This album is the complete opposite. We recorded most of it live, tracking the entire band at the same time in one room, me included. The passion in that space translates into the recorded music so much more than anything I’ve done before, and it has created a record that, in my opinion, is the best I’ve ever made.”

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