![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Mulan-Zhang-\u2018Scene-Says-Lizzy-McAlpine-makes-Angel-loud-quiet-and-everything-in-between--760x710.jpg\")
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Mulan Zhang | Contributing Illustrator<\/p>\n
Lizzy McAlpine knows exactly when to make a song swell and when to let it sit \u2014 that tension gives \u201cAngel\u201d much of its character. The indie folk-pop artist\u2019s fourth album, released Sept. 18, is beautiful and deeply personal, moving through romance, friendship, grief, and the strangeness of becoming yourself while everyone else keeps changing. McAlpine has described the 14-track album as a look into her diary from the past few years, explaining its wider range of ideas.<\/p>\n
Many of the songs build gradually, layering harmonies and guitars before pulling them away. \u201cThe light in the painting,\u201d the album\u2019s opening track, stays in line with the sound of McAlpine\u2019s previous album. It is a lovely song, but \u201cOur strange ways\u201d pushes much further. At over seven minutes, it is McAlpine\u2019s longest song yet, and somehow I never find myself checking how much time is left. The arrangement grows fuller before suddenly dropping away, leaving McAlpine\u2019s voice completely unproduced. I didn\u2019t see the shift coming, making it one of the album\u2019s most stunning moments. \u201cSoldier of the road,\u201d a collaboration with Fleet Foxes, captures the monotony and exhaustion of life on tour. Reflecting its weariness, I especially enjoy its darker folk harmonies and varied instrumentation. \u201cMason\u2019s song\u201d has particularly straightforward lyrics about McAlpine\u2019s friendship with Mason Stoops, making for a simple, sweet song.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time \u201cThe crowd\u201d arrives, connection has given way to grief. The song is devastating because McAlpine lets the absence stay an absence. Nothing fills the space, and that is precisely what makes it linger as one of the album\u2019s best songs. \u201cAngel\u201d is full of striking melodies, but what I love most is its ability to know when to let them bloom, and when to leave them bare.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mulan Zhang | Contributing Illustrator Lizzy McAlpine knows exactly when to make a song swell and when to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":915956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-915955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}