This collaboration also led to her renowned status as pop’s newest darling after the unprecedented success of her single “bad guy,” featured on WHERE DO WE GO. Her work with her brother Finneas O’Connell, professionally known as FINNEAS, has led to multiple international hits from the time she was 13 years old. She appeared as stunned and grateful as she always does on stage whenever she receives such accolades in general, Eilish is an amusing and polite - albeit coarse-mouthed - young woman who certainly has talent. While she hasn’t quite inherited the pop monarchy from Swift and the other elites, Eilish’s debut makes a strong case that it won’t be long until we see her in a crown.Billie Eilish is the youngest person to ever be awarded Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, for her debut effort WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? At just 18, she swept the ceremonies, earning over 60 awards in categories that ranged from Best New Artist to Best Song. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is the tongue-in-cheek bad-guy album Taylor Swift wished she had made with Reputation. The Verdict: Whatever missteps there may be, Eilish’s commanding, yet vulnerable, performances easily overcome them to create one of the best debut albums of the young year. The novelty soon wears off on these tracks, however, as the humor pales in comparison to the attitude of bangers like “all the good girls go to hell”. Similarly, “my strange addiction” garners some initial laughs with its samples from the “Threat Level Midnight” episode of The Office. The pitched vocals on “8”, while charming perhaps on first listen, soon lose their appeal. The Bad: Despite the record’s impressive cohesiveness and emotional engagement, the experimentation in production does lead to some missteps. Instead of accepting that her love is unrequited, she selfishly asks: “To spare my pride/ To give your lack of interest an explanation/ Don’t say I’m not your type/ Just say I’m not your preferred sexual orientation.” The dark humor that Eilish uses to cope with her heartaches and emotions across the entire tracklist is so deeply relatable and so well-executed that you can’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. On “wish you were gay”, Eilish pokes fun at her own heartache. “I’m the bad guy,” she menacingly snarls before adding a playful “duh” over a cartoony synth riff on the opening track. But where she shines most here is in embracing the balance of her dark side and her penchant for fun and sarcasm. The production perfectly compliments Eilish’s understated and whispery vocals, which highlight both trap bangers like “you should see me in a crown” and ballads like the jazzy, straight-edge track “xanny”.Įilish has already proved her capability of crafting beautiful pop ballads (“Ocean Eyes”).
#Billie eilish when we all fall asleep where do we go album full#
The album is full of ASMR-inducing textures and pounding bass lines delivered with a SoundCloud spirit, despite being fully intended to fill arenas. The Good: It’s impressive (especially in the pop landscape) that the brooding world conveyed on Eilish’s debut was almost entirely crafted by herself and her brother, producer and songwriter FINNEAS. (Read: Billie Eilish Blew Up and Grew Up in 2018) While the album doesn’t follow a specific plot line across its tracks, it certainly possesses a consistency in tone and theme (often lacking from many pop albums), which allows it to tell its story and welcomes us into Eilish’s haunted world.
It’s a bold title that invites us to consider the dark, perhaps monstrous, thoughts and emotions that hide just under the surface. These performances coupled with her down-to-earth social media presence and electrifying live shows have solidified Eilish’s place in the indie pop space, setting the stage for her blockbuster debut full-length, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Since 2016, Eilish has instead slowly built her impressive repertoire with just a sole EP, viral singles, and collaborations with the likes of Vince Staples and Khalid. The Lowdown: Billie Eilish is the poster child for a new pop generation - a generation that bucks the conventional prerequisite of a debut album to begin one’s ascent to stardom.