Is This Really Happening? Ali Angel Asks

The debut album from Angeleno Ali Angel hits our ears this week

I’ve spent a very happy Christmas spinning Ali Angel’s debut album, which we might abbreviate to ITRH? to keep the word count down. It happened by coincidence that I was starting to write about Americana music last winter, just as Ali was beginning a year that led to this, her first full album. I already had her brilliant self-titled EP from 2022, and had worn out the single Stone Cold. What I did not expect, and took some time to get used to, was that Ali wanted to send me her unreleased stuff so that I could write about it properly. Considering that we never met, and we live two universes and two generations apart, this was a proper compliment. Here goes!

Is This Really Happening?

You get the sense that Ali is asking herself this question. A debut album! After all those years, those countless hours. The dream is coming true, isn’t it? This has quickly become one of my favourites on the album. It’s slower, with a prominent acoustic guitar, and it builds beautifully. The choice of the first track of your first album is always such an important choice. Perhaps it is too important? Is there a chance you will overthink it? Never mind: this is the perfect choice. A tender love song full of questions. If you want to know, it’s about that night when Ali decided to go to a club on her own and ran into the love of her life. There’s surely nothing more uplifting than that.

Disco

Disco represents what I’ve come to consider mainstream Ali Angel. A little faster, a little more upbeat. It chugs along from the first bar. It’s not complex, it’s just catchy as hell. Turn off the phone, be in the present. Don’t let anyone distract from a simple night at the disco. In some ways, the narrative is part two of ITRH? because it was at The Echo that she met Austyn. The photo below is outside The Echo, on Sunset near Echo Park. If you were wondering, as I was, the sign says Nayarit and was the name of a previous restaurant in the building.

The Echo, a key site in Ali’s personal and musical life

Come On Through

We’re slowing down again, a more reflective mood. Time to cool down. Can the pain be washed away? We can try. It was at this point that I tried to set down what it is that I love so much about Ali’s music. It certainly goes beyond the music itself. She has such an open person, works hard (I mean like really hard) and yet makes everything seem so effortless. I’m not surprised someone flew her halfway round the world for a wedding show after seeing her live. Even on a reel, her live shows just ooze quality. There’s a dryness, a crackle to her vocals, and plenty of space in the guitar. It’s just very chilled, welcoming and friendly music.

Lighter

I covered Lighter in depth on the day it was released. Read more below.

Hold

The next two tracks are a little older and so I was more familiar with these. Hold is a duet with Tyler Ballgame, and it’s great to hear Ali in a duet with a male voice. This one has more of a groove, slightly bluesy.

Tell Me

Tell Me is a full-on summer song for driving in a convertible. Or going on a rollercoaster. This must have been written around the time Ali started to realise she liked girls more than guys, and I think that newness, that novelty, is what makes this song so special. It’s the happiest and sunniest song on the album.

Why am I so giddy?
I feel just like a child on a rollercoaster ride
Maybe it’s the way that she moves, she looks so cute

Emotional

Time to slow down again. The rollercoaster had to stop sometime, or at least slow a little. She’s been overthinking and working herself up. There are some wonderful harmonies in this one. The singer is learning how to let someone else look after them when they are overwrought. It sounds easy, letting someone else take control, but for those of us who are fixated on being the driver, letting go can be really tough. If she’s going to let go, first she has to trust her new partner. That’s what it boils down to.

The California sun shines out of Ali Angel’s mouth.

Fire

Ali sometimes describes her music as indie twang which says a lot in two words. Fire is a strong example of that. What I keep forgetting, and which should not matter but does, is that she is a totally independent artist. Yet even her press kits are always first rate.

Self-written and co-produced, the album captures a cinematic portrait of modern love—warm, intimate, and grounded in everyday magic.

The themes across the whole album include contrasts of fire and water, head and heart, learning to grow authentically and to love truly. I recall that Ali is a firm advocate of astrology. A Sagittarius herself but Aries Rising, both of them fire signs. During the summer, I downloaded my own birth chart after seeing a post by Ali. There’s more to this than meets the eye.

Her new relationship is more than just passionate fire. She wants them to be together forever, for those moments in-between, those moments which separate love and lust. This one really grows on you. The video gives a glimpse of Ali’s life with Austyn. I’m pleased to see she maintains good dental hygiene, although the one thing these girls are not is ordinary people.

She Says It’s Alright

I have written about this song before, and it was the first and most instantly catchy single of that autumn sequence leading up to the full album. The artwork for the single gave us a rare glimpse of Ali’s muse, guitarist Austyn. This is a strong finish to a brilliant debut album. Listen today!

The article below is the one I wrote before I knew Ali Angel. I had only really heard Stone Cold at that time, a song I played so much last spring that it became one of my top five of 2025.

You can catch Ali May Angel at all kinds of venues around LA and further afield and you can read more on her own site. She has a funny TikTok account and she shares posts on Instagram regularly. All of her recent music is available direct on Bandcamp.