Have no fear, besties — Lizzy McAlpine is here to save our sad girl summer. The singer released her second album, “five seconds flat,” on April 8 (and yes, I’m still in tears).

Nearly two years after releasing the melancholy marvel “Give Me A Minute,” McAlpine’s “five seconds flat” continues to fill her discography with poignant love and breakup songs for her listeners to blast on repeat. Covers of her new releases are already popping up on TikTok under the hashtag #fivesecondsflat, and the preliminary album reviews are glowing.

McAlpine’s sophomore album reminds us that, especially as college students, it’s okay to feel jealous, vulnerable and completely scatterbrained when the relationships we wished would last forever just can’t follow us into our newfound adulthood.

Songs like “doomsday,” “called you again,” “ceilings,” “firearm” and “orange show speedway” easily rise to the top of the tracklist, and they range from cinematic, acoustic ponderings to indie rock anthems you can belt out during a good cry.

McAlpine meets listeners wherever they are, saving space for the brokenhearted, the hardened pessimists and the wistful daydreamers whose weapon of choice is unbridled hope.

McAlpine’s lyrics for the brokenhearted: “We both know you were in deeper than that.”

For the brokenhearted who discover McAlpine’s new music, “erase me,” “called you again,” “what a shame” and “nobody likes a secret” can guide them through grief with candor and compassion. Accompanied by abundant, mesmerizing harmonies in “erase me,” McAlpine sings, “I’ve said too much, in and out of wanting us / Now you’re fadin’, and I wonder who will erase me?” McAlpine’s ambivalence shapes the three other tracks as well, and her lyricism encapsulates the pang of someone you love moving on without you.

McAlpine also broadens her definition of heartbreak to include not just romantic but familial loss in her 13th track on the album, “chemtrails,” a touching tribute to her late father. The soft piano paired with her delicate vocal tone makes for a song that expands both the album’s thematic range and the listener’s connection to McAlpine herself.

McAlpine’s lyrics for the pessimists: “I was trying to be honest / If this is what I get, I won’t be honest anymore.”

For listeners with a cautious approach to falling in love, McAlpine presents romantic pessimists with “doomsday,” “an ego thing,” “reckless driving,” “firearm” and “hate to be lame.”

Admittedly, “reckless driving” is likely the only one with a shot at becoming a frequent flier on radio stations for its catchy chorus and oversaturated driving motif. However, the other four tracks also go above and beyond with their strong drum set and electric guitar pulses that capture what it feels like to put up emotional walls.

With “doomsday” and “firearm” in particular, McAlpine is the master of conflicting truths.

“And the funny thing is I would’ve married you / If you’d have stuck around,” she sings in the climactic “doomsday” bridge, only for such a loaded statement to clash with “you sleep with the firearm / I should’ve pulled it on you” in “firearm.”

Her meticulous lyrics validate pessimistic listeners’ opposing interests: wanting to love someone but deeply dreading the pain of losing them. As McAlpine said about breakups in “an ego thing,” “it’s not that I hate you / I hate that it hurt.”

McAlpine’s lyrics for the daydreamers: “I’m racing head-first towards everything that I want back.”

Fellow daydreamers, especially those who conjure up images of love stories that may never be told, will adore “all my ghosts,” “weird,” “ceilings” and “orange show speedway.”

In “five seconds flat,” fantasy is just as important as reality. For instance, McAlpine admits that the seemingly perfect partner she sings to in “ceilings” is nothing more than a figment of her imagination. However, daydreaming about “what could have been” is not framed as a delusion put to music, but as a testament to our imperfections, complexities and natural affinity for happy endings.

Interestingly, this dynamic set of songs is not only complex in its themes and lyricism, but also in its diverse musical styles and tones. On the one hand, “orange show speedway” is a warm, upbeat track that even includes a clip from McAlpine’s voice memos to strengthen the song’s organic vibe. On the other hand, “ceilings” opts for a slower, more crestfallen feel, making Phoebe Bridgers fans’ ears perk up after the first chord. Funnily enough, the two songs still share a commitment to the daydreamers who hear them, offering solace in their own ways.

No two people view love in the same way, but “five seconds flat” is a gorgeous conglomeration of the many things love can be. It can fill our souls or leave us feeling totally defenseless (sometimes at the same time). Embellished with McAlpine’s rich vocals and stunning harmonies, the album creates a seminal space for rage, grief and hope to reconcile, making listeners just a little bit stronger every time they hit play.

Edited by Lucy Valeski, lvaleski@themaneater.com