By: Hannah Devlin

Lizzy McAlpine’s latest song, “Older,” is the first track she’s released from her third studio album. Released on February 13th, the single encapsulates the feeling of growing up and all the complexities of the transition into adulthood.

The opening lyric, “Over and over, a carousel ride,” captures a sense of spiraling anxiety and appeals to a distant childhood memory. In the first verse, McAlipine’s references to carnival tickets and rides invoke nostalgia and childlike wonder. However, this image is somewhat subverted when she sings, “Stuck in a loop, watch the curtain come down.” The sentimentality that comes with memories of carousel rides turns sour when listeners are reminded that the joy of it eventually fades to feelings of stuckness and nausea. The falling curtain not only refers to the end of this experience but also symbolizes the end of a chapter of life where experiences grow tiresome. 

As McAlpine sings the chorus, “I wish I were stronger somehow, I wish it was easy, Somewhere I lost all my senses, I wish I knew what the end is,” she perfectly captures the feeling of a big life transition. Knowing that you are moving towards something but not knowing where it is or when you will get there is an exhausting process, and her fatigue with this experience is clear in her vocals.

While growing up is hard individually, watching your loved ones grow old is just as difficult. McAlpine sings, “Over and over, watch it all pass, Mom’s getting older, I’m wanting it back,” and her appeal for the past, not just for herself, but for her mother as well, is a decisive moment in the song because it reframes what growing older means. Although McAlpine struggles with growing older, everyone around her is as well.

“Older” perfectly encapsulates the feeling of growing pains. Being at a stage in your life where there is a lot of uncertainty is frustrating; the inability to appreciate the past without knowing what the future holds is scary. McAlpine reminds us that this is not something we must experience alone because we all experience it at some point in our lives. As always, her lyricism stands out, and her vocals portray everything that words can’t. 

If “Older” indicates what we can expect from McAlpine in her next album, I will most certainly be listening.