Liz Longley has always relied on her broken heart. It’s been her muse and her lens, her road to self-discovery and how she offers strangers a soft place to fall. After years of earning acclaim for her pining, songwriter-driven pop, Longley couldn’t help but worry: What will happen now that she’s happy?

“I joke that I built a career writing songs about my failed love life,” Longley says with a laugh. “Then I got all the things I ever wanted, and I was very curious: Where are the songs going to come from now?”

On her seventh album New Life, Longley does more than assuage her own concerns about a dried-up creative well: She proves her source for inspiration has only grown deeper. “Everything has changed,” Longley says. “And despite my fears, there’s more to write about than ever.” 

Motherhood, marriage, friendship, and ongoing personal and artistic evolution: New Life explores it all through Longley’s signature blend of self-aware storytelling and gorgeous melodies. Frequent collaborator and five-time Grammy nominee Paul Moak once again helmed boards as producer at Smoakstack Studio in Nashville, where Longley has lived since 2011. “I think I felt the most at ease this time,” she says. “I’ve made records independently before, but I was young––and it was kind of the only option. Now, I’ve done the label thing and figured out who I am as an artist. There is just a different level of confidence in who I am.” 

Fans and critics have eagerly followed Longley’s progress for more than a decade. HuffPost proclaimed her eponymous debut “stunning,” while the follow-up, 2016’s Weightless, earned another wave of praise, as outlets such as Popdose dubbed it “a thing of beauty.” Then, Longley turned heads not just with her music, but with the sheer strength of her grassroots following: Devotees raised more than $150,000 to fund the independent release of Longley’s sixth album, Funeral For My Past. Publications ranging from Forbes to Billboard applauded the project.

The 11 songs on New Life reveal a woman embracing a slew of firsts. Musically and lyrically, Longley takes risks that pay off. She lovingly dubs “Wake You Up” a “bop,” acknowledging that she’s never leaned so freely into unabashedly upbeat bubblegum. Synthesized drums bounce to a shimmery chorus that urges thankfulness and living in each moment. “I hope it makes people feel good in the morning,” Longley says. “I hope they turn it on and have a dance party in their kitchen. That’s what we do.” 

By “we,” Longley means her little family made up of her, her husband, and their baby girl, born in 2022. Several of the songs on New Life document Longley’s transition into motherhood––and the dizzying changes in perspective, routine, and peace that followed. 

“I feel like my brain split in half when I became a mom,” Longley says. “Your world gets smaller, and you’re overwhelmed by every little moment. I dealt with a lot of postpartum depression and anxiety, so there was a lot of relearning how to do things with a new human around. A lot of that journey is what fed into these songs.”  

Several songs on New Life grapple with the inevitable shifts in relationships that parenthood brings. Channeling sultry bossa nova, “Start Again” captures familiar lovers longing for the fire that first brought them together. Longley wrote the song years ago with Isaac Fox and thinks of it as a sister song to “Torture,” the smoldering love song featured on Funeral For My Past. Playful “In a Mood” takes a teasing aim at a lover who isn’t responding to hints. Cowritten with Monet Maddux, “100x” earned its place on the record as a breakup anthem that takes a stand, disrupting painful patterns. “Ultimately, I hope these songs make people feel closer to themselves, and that they gravitate more to the people who matter in their lives,” Longley says.

Relatable “Different Lover” tackles the changing dynamics between partners trying to navigate new priorities. “When you become a parent, you have shifted your focus to the little one,” Longley says. “You’re a team, but everything has changed. So hey, how do we make time for us?”

Pensive and subdued, “The Last One” is a rare gem: a song mourning a friendship lost as parenthood makes new demands on time. “I have incredible friends in my life. In writing that song, I realized I’d never written about my friends before,” Longley says. “I am exploring themes I’ve never explored.

“More Than Ever” captures the confounding blend of worry and determination that shapes new motherhood. Longley’s formidable voice takes captivating lead over a bed of understated instrumentation that builds into a climactic resolution and sense of purpose. Longley wrote it one day, crying on her front porch with her guitar, and calls it her “heart in a song.” 

Parenthood’s intrinsic duality shows up as a theme over and over again throughout the album. Vocal showcase “Mystery” ponders the complexity of ordinary moments. “It’s higher highs than ever, and lower lows than ever, but they exist in the same day,” Longley says, sighing and laughing. Written with Ian Keaggy and delivered over plaintive piano, “New Life” pokes and prods the heartbreaking realization that Longley has brought “new life to a dying planet.” With the rootsy cheer of a backyard jam session, “So Good” revels in buoyant gratitude for a family’s gifts.

Album closer “Can’t Get Enough” then turns and celebrates the beautiful experiences that await Longley’s daughter. The song is one of Longley’s favorites to sing live. The smell of camp fire smoke, falling asleep with a good dog, and other sweet moments create a tapestry of contentment and everyday magic. “I can’t wait for her to experience all of these things––little things that bring so much joy,” Longley says. “In a way, this song serves as a reminder for me, too.” 

While New Life is a rich consideration of young parenthood and one woman’s dramatically altered outlook, it is also a striking snapshot of universal challenges, the hunt for what matters, and bold, brave hope. For Longley, that’s the ultimate goal of many songs: honest reckonings with life that prove despair and faith can––and often do––coexist. “I hope these songs reach people who need them,” Longley says. “Just when you’ve had it with the world, there will be something you see that takes your breath away.” 

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