On March 29, 2019, Billie Eilish released her debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? on Darkroom/ Interscope Records. The album has 14 songs that take listeners through a lyrical and melodical journey, beginning with the catchy, upbeat, and breathy tracks “!!!!!!” and “Bad Guy”. This album also features his singles such as “When the Party’s Over”, “Bury a Friend” and “You Should See Me in a Crown”.
Billie Eilish is a 17-year-old electropop/pop/trap artist out of Los Angeles, California. She became well-known in 2015 at the age of 15 when she wrote her song “Ocean Eyes”, originally written for her brother, Finneas O’Connell’s band, and released it on her SoundCloud account. Later the same year it was released on Interscope Records, and her career skyrocketed. Her first EP, Don’t Smile at Me, was released in 2017, which featured hit song “Idontwannabeyouanymore”. Her most recent release has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews worldwide, and has shown the world that she’s not here to play games.
I’ll be honest- I definitely didn’t want to like Billie Eilish as much as I do. When I first heard about her, I thought she was just another indie artist with a breathy, exaggerated style of singing that had been done so many times before. After listening to her recent releases and following her through social media, however, I am blown away at how well she not only performs and how much she cares about her music, but how she has reacted to her sudden skyrocketing to fame. Many girls her age that are at her level of fame become sellout artists that conform to the needs or wants of the industry, but the thing I admire so much about Billie is that she has always stayed true to herself and her music throughout her success.
When We All Fall Asleep was released via a museum exhibit created by Billie called “The Billie Eilish Experience” which she detailed via an Instagram post (insert here if possible) was an interactive exhibit into her creative process. Billie has intense synesthesia, a brain condition in which sounds have colors, feelings, tastes, and textures. This condition not only helps one understand her music better, but it allows the listeners to feel her music in a different way. The song “Goodbye”, which ends the album is a dark, soft song that reminds one of the slow progressions of the currents of the ocean and its ebbs and flows. “8” is a sunny, bright song that reminds one of warm summer days with a cold chill of longing for someone.
The most important track on the album is the song “Xanny” in which Billie condemns the abuse of drugs and substances, especially in an era where drugs are glorified in the music industry. The lyrics are powerful upon analyzing, and shows her immense understanding of the amount of pressure a young person feels in a culture so dominated by the feeling of numbness.
This album is a stellar creation that commands Billie’s presence at the top of the charts. From the album art, to the lyrics, to the music videos, Billie Eilish is here to stay in the music industry and I, for one, am excited to see what else she will create.
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify, and available to purchase in stores everywhere and online.