Liz Stringer has been an unwavering and captivating presence in the Australian music landscape throughout her six-album career. Revered by her musical peers and devoted fans, Stringer's world-class voice, multi-instrumental prowess, notoriously powerful live performances, and richly narrative, genre-defying songs place her among the most significant songwriters of her time. Reflecting the breadth and complexity of Stringer's sensitivity and achievement as an artist, The Second High draws inspiration from her broader influences in jazz, funk, and soul, elevating her ability to dissect the minutiae of the human condition through song—and connect with her audience—to a new level. The album is filled with themes of self-actualization, lessons learned, sharp and always relevant commentary on social issues, and a strong, consistent emphasis on justice and equality. Fueled by keyboard grooves ranging from poignant grand piano laments (When You Met Me) to the Rhodes-led jazz odyssey On the Level, with hip-hop-infused touches brightening the heavy and deeply funky The Second High, to virtuosic flourishes dancing between strings and ethereal multi-layered vocals in To Survive, Stringer's seventh studio album is a fresh and engaging journey to a yet unexplored destination—even by Stringer's standards—thrilling, austere, and transformative. If First Time Really Feeling from 2021 was a dig, The Second High is an exorcism.