Lizzy McAlpine’s highly anticipated second album, “five seconds flat,” dropped this past April, showing raw emotional lyrics alongside great production and creating a sonically cohesive album.

Within McAlpine’s discography, she has released multiple projects such as “When the World Stopped Moving”, “Indigo” and the album “Give Me a Minute”. McAlpine’s past projects have demonstrated calm vocals with soft guitar, creating an overall low production sound, which might sound like it but was never a bad thing. If anything, it made her as an artist have a more intimate sound. By using storytelling and having a cohesive narrative behind “five seconds flat”, it creates a more complex tone. I believe this is her best work yet.

High production is demonstrated in songs on the album such as “firearm”. The ending of the song has a lot of anger and emotion. It deals with unhealthy coping mechanisms in the aftermath of a relationship, looking for the comfort you once found in your significant other. The ending of the song tells the story of regret within a relationship and it is portrayed in this song perfectly.

Songs like “hate to be lame feat. FINNEAS” show a beautiful blend of voices. McAlpine’s soothing tone mixed with electronic beats and intricate lyricism creates calming and wistful verses. Halfway through the song, FINNEAS, Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator with his own solo career, comes into the track with his harmonious verses. He adds an intricate and delicate voice to the song. This song deals with the conflicting emotions of not wanting to love someone because you’re scared of being judged.

Overall, this album tells a cohesive story through lyrics. Towards the beginning of the album it shows someone who is just getting over a long-term relationship. This person is struggling to move on in their life and clearly needs help to get out of a dark place, as seen in songs like “doomsday” and “erase me (feat. Jacob Collier)”. In the middle and towards the end of the album, the narrative switches. Now this character is finding herself wrapped up in a relationship with someone, but continuing to be scared because of past heartbreak, hoping not to get hurt again. When putting out the album, McAlpine made it clear it was essential to listen to the album in the tracklist’s order. The album “five seconds flat” is a perfect addition to McAlpine’s discography and I am eager to see what comes next.