Lizzy McAlpine Redefines Herself in "five seconds flat"

Interview by Lexi Matuson

Graphic by Rebekah Witt

Fresh off of opening for dodie on her North American Tour, indie artist Lizzy McAlpine is ready to show the music world her new sound with her sophomore album five seconds flat. The album comes out on Friday, April 8th. We sat down with Lizzy to talk about her new sound, her progression, and her favorite lyrics.

You’ve just gotten off of a tour with Dodie, which was wonderful to watch.

Thank you!

Do you feel like you learned anything new on that tour?

Definitely. I feel like I’ve learned what I need to be able to tour and not lose my mind. It was definitely a learning experience. 

Your sophomore album is coming out April 8th called five seconds flat. What do you want your fans to know going into the album?

I think just that it’s very different from the last one. We really tried to stray far away from the indie-folk singer/songwriter acoustic vibe of the first album, [Give Me A Minute], just because I feel like that’s who I was as an artist when I was making that album and obviously as a person. I’ve grown so much since that album, but also as an artist, I feel like my sound has evolved and I’ve been writing different kinds of stuff, so I just wanted to make sure that was reflected in this new album.

I think you’re doing a great job with it. The first single got me so hooked, and I’ve been so excited for this album, personally. You were talking about how your writing style has changed. Is there a lyric on this album that you’re the proudest of?

Oh, gosh. I feel like I love a lot of lyrics on this album. I mean, all the lyrics in “firearm,” that song I’m very proud of. 

What does that song mean to you?

That song was written right after a breakup and was very much a reflection of, basically, overlooking red flags. I love all the lyrics in that one. And then there’s the first lyric of the song “nobody likes a secret” is ‘I hold my anger in my stomach, and I’m starting to have side effects from hating you this much,’ which I just like that lyric a lot.

That’s beautiful. So the album title – can you tell me about the story behind it?

So it’s actually a lyric in the last song of the album called “orange show speedway,” and it’s the only time that the album title really shows up – is that lyric. It’s the second to last lyric in the song. And basically, it’s just about how, even though relationships and feelings and humans are complicated and weird and messy and no one ever really knows what they’re doing, and even though I’ve gotten hurt so many times before in the past from relationships and all that stuff, I still search for love and seek it out because it also can be beautiful on rare occasions. And the whole five seconds flat thing – the lyric – is basically like, “I’m racing headfirst towards something that could kill me in five seconds flat, racing headfirst towards everything that I want back.” Just being like love, relationships could kill you in five seconds flat, but I still want it.

There’s something that’s so incredible about your songwriting – how honest it is. Do you find it hard to be so vulnerable with your audience?

Not usually. I feel like I’m pretty used to it at this point. It’s just, like, what I do. There are moments though where I get a little bit nervous to share so much of myself with my audience. At the end of the day, I think that my being so open and vulnerable in my songs just helps people to relate to them more and hopefully provides people with a sense of comfort that they’re not alone. 

You worked with some really great collaborators on this album like FINNEAS and Laura Elliott. What was the creative process like with these other artists?

Honestly, it was really smooth. I basically had written all of the songs, mostly, and then I went to them and asked them to be a part of it. With Ben [Kessler], we co-wrote his verse and his chorus together. With Laura [Elliott], she wrote her verse by herself and then sent it to me. Finneas wrote his – it was kind of like a different mix of things. But like with Finneas and Laura who wrote their own verses, they sent it to me and I was immediately like “Yes, this is perfect.” There was no back and forth really on that front. They just completely understood what was supposed to be written and they wrote it. They’re just amazing. They’re all amazing. 

There’s a really big theme throughout the songs and videos that we’ve heard and seen thus far, both of marriage and of death. Can you talk about how these ideas have influenced your album?

I feel like these themes are more prevalent in the short film that we made. I feel like the album as a whole isn’t really centered on those. I just think we chose these singles to be a part of the film for a reason: because they all tie together like that. The main metaphor of the short film is that heartbreak is like a death. Those songs, the themes in those songs, align with that really well. I don’t think that the whole album has those themes; I think it’s just the film.

You put together a really great story and the visuals for the era have been super strong. What’s it been like working with Gus Black to craft this story?

Absolutely amazing. I literally found him on Instagram and DMed him because he had done some videos for one of my friends. I was like, “Hey, I have this idea, and it’s like kind of ambitious and like kind of crazy, but would you be down?” We did a Zoom call, and I brought my Google Slides, Pinterest boards, my ten pages of what I wanted this to be. He’s just been so amazing to work with. We’re so creatively aligned and understand each other on that level. It’s been really cool to work with someone like that, especially on this project. 

Both of you have done such a wonderful job crafting this narrative and the theme of death and the skeleton faces – it’s been so incredible to watch. When you were writing this album and you finished it and first listened to it all the way through, how did you feel?

Excited. I just felt like these new songs sound so different from what I’ve put out in the past, but they sound so much like me, and it’s just exciting to be able to put that kind of music out that I’m really passionate about.

It’s been so great to see your growth in that sense. Now, we’re going to go to a really fun question! Here’s our concept: you’re creating your own tour. You get to choose an opening act for you – a smaller artist who you love – and someone who you open for – a bigger artist that you love. Who are you bringing on the road?

Okay, well my opener would for sure be Carole Ades. I’m obsessed with her. She is like so amazing. Her songwriting ability is just insane. And then a bigger artist… maybe like Phoebe [Bridgers]. 

Love that lineup! Thank you so much for sitting down with Kinda Cool Magazine. We really appreciated it and are so excited to hear the album. 

You can listen to Lizzy McAlpine’s sophomore album five seconds flat this Friday! Alongside the album, you can watch the companion short film that premieres on the same day.