At just 17 years old with seven gold singles and a debut album, Billie Eilish is set for alternative pop music domination. Eilish was found through SoundCloud in 2016 with her haunting melody “ocean eyes” and gained a huge following from Gen Z. As her other singles were released, including “bellyache”, “idontwannabeyouanymore”, and “copycat”, she gained the attention of other artists and the whole world, even recently performing at Coachella. Eilish counts Julia Roberts, Matty Healy from The 1975, and Justin Bieber as some of her celebrity fans.
In her debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?”, Eilish addresses many topics such as party culture, worrying about unrequited love and anxiety about the future, all with her poetic lyrics.
Her first single off the album, “bury a friend”, is unlike any other song that’s on the radio right now. The heavy bassline and whispering sends shivers down the listener’s spine and the spooky feeling of the song is intriguing. The video showcases Eilish’s dark creativity as she levitates and hides under a bed with black eyes.
The other songs on her album take a complete 180. Tunes like “i love you” is beautiful and heart-wrenching with lyrics like “I didn’t mean to make you cry…I love you and I don’t want to”. Her ability to go from dark, powerful songs to brighter ukulele based pieces is just one example of Eilish’s artistic genius. The themes of her songs encapsulate our generation’s experiences and Eilish’s talent is expressing exactly what we aren’t able to say. If you can’t stop thinking of that hottie in your psychology class, then you “can’t stop thinking of your diamond mind” (“ocean eyes”). Hearing “somebody new is gonna comfort me like you never do” after a rough breakup will give you hope for the future (“bitches broken hearts”).
Each song on the album is different than the others, but can be grouped into three themes: the dark broody songs, the slow you’ll-definitely-cry songs, and more upbeat songs reminiscent of her earlier EP “don’t smile at me”. Here’s a guide for which Billie Eilish songs to listen to depending on your mood.
When you’re broody:
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“bad guy”
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“you should see me in a crown”
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“all the good girls go to hell”
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“bury a friend”
When you’re sad:
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“xanny”
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“when the party’s over”
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“ilomilo”
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“listen before i go”
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“i love you”
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“goodbye”
When you’re feeling optimistic:
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“wish you were gay”
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“8”
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“my strange addiction”