Billie Eilish paving her way in the music industry

Eilishs+new+album+is+available+on+Spotify%2C+among+other+streaming+platforms.

Taken from Spotify

Eilish’s new album is available on Spotify, among other streaming platforms.

Last Friday, rising teen pop star Billie Eilish released her highly-anticipated first album, titled “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?”. After releasing her EP “dont smile at me” towards the end of 2017, fans have been eagerly awaiting some new music. Although she’s released multiple singles between the two releases, some argue that this is her best era yet.

Track 1 – !!!!!!!

This is essentially more of an introduction to the album, rather than an actual song. Eilish, along with what appears to be her brother, joke around for a few seconds as she takes out her retainer. She then proceeds to introduce the album.

Rating: 2/10 (It didn’t seem necessary.)

Track 2 – bad guy

Out of all the songs on this album, this seems to be the best candidate for a new hit single. It gives off a manufactured-for-pop vibe while still staying true to Eilish’s usual vibe. “bad guy” is pretty catchy, as it’s probably intended to be. The instruments are minimal and serve the purpose of highlighting her raspy voice, rather than drowning it. Towards the end of the song, there’s a twist when Eilish changes up the tempo for the last 30 seconds or so.

Rating: 7/10

Track 3 – xanny

Although this song seems to be an overall favorite, the only thing I liked about it was the message. Eilish sings about saying no to drugs, alluding to the fact that she’s seen what drug abuse can do to someone. “xanny” is a reference to the highly-addictive drug Xanax, and although she doesn’t mention it in the song explicit, it seems to be one of the main drugs she’s referring to. Regarding the vocals, her voice is extremely feathery, sometimes too much so. The raspy quality that she’s now become known for is displayed in almost every song on the album, which in my opinion takes away from the meaning of the songs. If she can’t use proper diction or sustain a note, which she can and is choosing not to do, then the message tends to get lost.

Rating: 5/10

Track 4 – you should see me in a crown

“you should see me in a crown” is one of four singles that had been released before the album’s arrival. it was the first one in the set, giving Eilish’s fans their first taste of her new style of music. It’s an edgy track that essentially describes Eilish realizing her own self-worth and what she deserves, however, she seems to take it a bit too far. I understand her message, but it gets lost in some of the pretentious, rather unnecessary self-aggrandizing lyrics.

Rating: 6/10

Track 5 – all the good girls go to hell

It makes sense to have this song directly after “you should see me in a crown” It contains that same entitled attitude, but she handles it with a sense of immaturity in this song more so than the last one. As the listeners, we’re reminded that she’s still just a teenager and possesses some of the same childish qualities as other young adults. Eilish attempts to glorify her bad attitude by claiming that being good wouldn’t get her anywhere to begin with, so why bother changing her tone when she could become a rebel instead.

Rating: 6/10

Track 6 – wish you were gay

Upon first glance, this song seems to be controversial, but very quickly into the track it becomes clear that it’s not. Her meaning behind the title is that she’s gotten rejected because the guy didn’t like her, but she wishes it had to do with his sexual orientation rather than his personal feelings. The song is okay, nothing really stands out about it to me. It was released right before the album came out, so maybe the timing didn’t allow the song to grow on me, but my opinion still stands.

Rating: 6/10

Track 7 – when the party’s over

This track is a refreshing break from the overly-exaggerated vibes from the previous ones. It’s the one raspy-voiced song besides “i love you” that I actually enjoy, simply because of the way it’s executed. Eilish plays around with vocal stacking, which, when put all together, creates a really beautiful song overall. It’s the first time we see her step away from the tough-girl image she tries too hard to portray and really gets in touch with her emotions. The more vulnerable side of her shows, which makes the song more personal to both her and the listeners.

Rating: 9/10

Track 8 – 8

I don’t understand this song. Both the beginning and the end have Eilish’s voice artificially set to an Alvin and the Chipmunks type tone… which… I’m just wondering… why??? It doesn’t add a positive effect to the song at all, rather, it makes it seem immature and not worth listening to. The refrain is a series of heavily autotuned sounds, not words. It was hard for me to get through this song due to the erratic melody, which overall was a distraction from the lyrics.

Rating: 3/10

Track 9 – my strange addiction

This and “bad guy” go hand in hand with their pop vibes and song structure. The unique factor about “my strange addiction”, though, is that EIlish uses quotes from The Office throughout the melody. In the first clip, Michael Scott actually says Billie’s name, which is a cool touch. It seems like he’s addressing her directly. I also liked her use of the lyric “shoulda taken a break, not an Oxford comma”. I’ve never heard the Oxford comma used in a song before, and I thought it was really unique how she utilized it.

Rating: 9/10

Track 10 – bury a friend

I know… so many people love this song. They praise its individuality, how it bends the structure rules of songwriting, and how outwardly creepy it is. I can agree that Eilish’s self-proclaimed “terror pop” is definitely a new and unique take in the world of music, and I commend her efforts to use her own voice and not conform to society. However, that being said, I can’t stand creepy things and was a little scared by this song. I couldn’t even watch more than a few seconds of the music video without the possibility of nightmares in my future. I recognize that my opinion on this song is subjective, and it may really vibe with other people, but I appreciate Eilish’s fresh take on pop nonetheless.

Rating: 6/10

Track 11 – ilomilo

“ilomilo” is one of the songs on the album that doesn’t really stand out to me. Lyrically, it’s pretty good, but the actual musical part of it lacks the unique nature of Eilish’s other songs. The only “mysterious” thing about this song was its name – which is actually pronounced “ee-low-mee-low”. There’s actually a game by the same name, which has the plot, if you will, of two characters trying to make their way back to each other. I’ll give Eilish an A for effort, but in terms of execution, maybe a C.

Rating: 6/10

Track 12 – listen before i go

Out of fourteen tracks, this is the most heartfelt and even heartbreaking song I listened to. It becomes apparent throughout that the lyrics are referring to suicide, and Eilish takes on the role of someone saying goodbye to everyone she loves before she ends her life. It’s unclear if this song is part of a deeper narrative she’s trying to tell, or if it’s actually Eilish’s personal thoughts, but it’s still extremely concerning to listen to. Eilish has actually described it as one of her favorite songs she’s ever written, which I can understand due to her eloquent word choices that flow together with the piano in the background. My main concern with this song is how it appears to describe that suicide is the only option for her after dealing with “a year long headache” and some extreme mental health issues. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it glorifies suicide, however, I think Eilish should have been more concious about what message she was trying to pass along to her teenage audience, considering how suceptible we are.

Rating: 7/10

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call 1-800-273-8255.

Track 13 – i love you

I have so much love for this song, it’s unreal. This is probably in my top five favorite songs list that Eilish has ever written. It’s deceptively simple in its melody and lyrics, however, it instantly pulls the listener in. Eilish’s brother, Finneas, sings along with her throughout the chorus and some of the pre-chorus. The way her voice reaches an emotional peak singing the words “i love you” is almost intoxicating. It’s so full of raw emotion, making it one of her more vulnerable songs.

Rating: 10/10 (Is it possible to give it an 11?)

Track 14 – goodbye

Obviously, “goodbye” is the closing track on the album, and fittingly so. It starts off with some beautiful vocal stacking from Eilish, leaving behind the feathery breathiness of previous songs and opting for a stronger hold over the notes. As for the lyrics, it’s a collection of some of the best lines from her earlier songs on this album. It goes in reverse order, so the album’s inferred storyline is essentially coming back full circle. Just a side note on the visuals of this album – each track on Spotify has an accompanying moving image to go along with it. Most of them are, although on the creepier side, pretty cool and artistically well-done. The image for this song, however, is extremely scary (in my opinion, but then again, I’m easily spooked). Just a warning: if you don’t want to see a black and white sketch of Eilish with hypnotic eyes and fangs like Pennywise from the movie It, maybe don’t look at it.

Rating: 8/10