Alicia Moffet - No, I'm Not Crying
- Samuel Stevens
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 38 minutes ago
Alicia Moffet’s long-awaited third studio album, No, I’m Not Crying, marks a triumphant return for the Canadian singer-songwriter. After a two-year musical hiatus that gave her space for introspection and reinvention, Moffet emerges with a body of work that is richer, braver, and more emotionally charged than anything she’s released before. Set for release on May 30, 2025, via Cult Nation/Sony Music, the record doesn’t just showcase her evolution—it embodies it.
Where both her 2021 debut album, Billie Ave., and her 2022 album Intertwine hinted at potential, No, I’m Not Crying fully delivers on it. Backed by a new creative team—most notably producers Jason Brando (Charlotte Cardin), Sam Avant (Beach Season), and Harper Gordon (Kenny Beats, Vince Staples, Mick Jenkins, Roy Woods)—Moffet harnesses a bolder alternative-pop sound laced with R&B textures and raw lyrical candour. From melancholic slow burns to defiant anthems, this album pulses with an emotional duality that feels both intensely personal and universally resonant.
The opening track and lead single, “Choke,” is a mission statement. Born from the ashes of an earlier version called "Emergency Room," the final product is a sonic punch to the gut—it's haunting and unapologetic. Its piercing lyrics (“So did it taste sweet? / Do you feel complete?”) sting with betrayal and sarcasm, balancing bitterness with the kind of clarity that only comes from survival. “I don’t actually wish for anyone to choke,” Moffet quips, “but if they were to stub their toe a few times…” The song sets the tone for an album built on reclaimed power.
“Fake” takes a sharp jab at digital toxicity, confronting the dehumanizing gaze of online scrutiny with self-aware sarcasm. Its brutally honest lyrics (“I'm just another pretty girl without a brain”) turn mockery into fuel, while synth-laced, pulsating bass production accentuates its seething energy. Moffet doesn’t just call out the haters—she interrogates the systems that continues to feed them.
But it's not all edge and attitude. Tracks like “Lay Your Light” and “Hotel W” reveal a softer, more introspective side of her that translates into powerful pop ballads. The former, a soul-baring number about feeling seen in a healthy relationship, is one of the album’s standout moments, where Alicia has a moment to let her sultry voice soar to new heights. It’s stripped-back yet vocally powerful, channelling vulnerability into strength. Lyrics like “You shine so bright there’s just no hiding / It’s like the moon and sun colliding” glow with poetic intimacy. "Hotel W" explores lost love, but also the resilience to push forward. The song is also a ballad that builds and builds before a massive bang at the end lets out Moffet's frustrations. With lyrics like "From tattoos to rings, I’d do anything to have you back under me blowing my wings," it's clear how much she longs to return to this person, yet wants to continue moving forward without them.
“Indemme,” a French-language offering (translated means “Unharmed”), adds a poignant layer of emotional nuance as one of the album's most immense ballads. It's sung entirely in her native tongue, the track offers a moment of quiet resilience—a reminder that healing doesn’t always need to be loud.
Elsewhere, “Tired of Me” and “Mr. Right” flirt with self-doubt and relational disillusionment, the later also hinting at a sapphic love, "I’m too pretty to cry over boys who don't know how to please / Maybe I’m Mr. Right and the whole time they’ve been wrong for me / I’m too pretty to try and act like I love what I see
/ Maybe I’m Mr. Right, and this whole time I needed a queen." While the album's final two tracks, “Who Do You Call” and “Colder,” explore emotional estrangement with atmospheric production and contemplative lyrics. Each track bleeds into the next with cohesion and purpose, constructing a narrative arc that mirrors the highs and lows of self-discovery.
Thematically, No, I’m Not Crying is about shedding the layers people have projected onto Alicia Moffet—whether that’s as a public figure, a mother, a partner, or a pop star—and stepping fully into her own truth. It’s an album that defies genre boundaries as much as it does emotional restraint. She’s not just telling us she’s grown up—she’s showing us, beat by beat, lyric by lyric.
Ultimately, No, I’m Not Crying is a fearless, genre-fluid meditation on identity, self-worth, and emotional survival. It's an arresting, cathartic leap forward from an artist finally in command of her voice. With her new album, Alicia Moffet proves she’s no longer playing the game to please anyone but herself—and we’re lucky to be invited into this next chapter. Be sure to pre-order and pre-save No, I'm Not Crying HERE.
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