When We All Fall Asleep, Where Does Billie Go?
I am 18 and haven’t done anything. Billie Eilish is 17 and just played Coachella. Meeting Paul McCartney, hosting an art exhibit- this young, blue-hair-donning artist is only just getting started.
To preface, I am by NO means musically inclined other than the fact that I like to dance to “Tiny Dancer” in my room at odd hours of the day. That being said, this is my most authentic review of Eilish’s debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” So grab a snack, pop in some earbuds, listen along and enjoy.
“When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” begins with a slurp. By that, I mean you are immediately hit with the sound of her fixing her Invisalign. She proclaims that this is the album. Yes Billie, yes it is, and boy are we ready to get started now.
Cliché that I say I love the song “bad guy?” Probably. But you know what? It’s a good song. The beat is relentless, constantly being layered and is just all around catchy and foot-tapping worthy.
The interludes after Billie responds with “Duh” are more upbeat than some of her other songs, making “bad guy” the best song to dance to out of all of them (at least I think so, but if you can dance your heart out to “bury a friend,” more power to ya).
The only concerning thing? She calls herself the “might seduce your dad type.” Again, she’s 17, but she is the “bad guy,” so I suppose Eilish knows what she’s doing.
“Xanny” is so fun to listen to with earbuds. You get a full fancy restaurant ambience in one song, soft piano; it’s easy to imagine Billie singing at the front with an old-timey mic. This is interspersed with more electronic and auto-tuned ballads throughout the song. A combination of aesthetics? Beautiful. This song is one you would hear in a dramatic and dark romantic scene of a movie. Drop the partner to the breakdowns that break up the song. Yeah?
For the sake of time and the fact that it is one of the more popular songs, “you should see me in a crown” is so much fun. Great beat, catchy, the best one if you love more alternative/heavier songs. The breakdown is the best in the album.
Also for the sake of time, and the sake of your own sanity, don’t worry-I’ll only go over two more songs. I know I’ve skipped a few, but let’s get to “my strange addiction.” It has the best introduction to any of the songs on the album, opening with audio clips from “Threat Level Midnight” from “The Office,” and bringing more in as the song continues.
On top of this, we get some lovely high notes in the catchy chorus that is surely going to injure my friends’ eardrums as I try to sing the song for my friends in the future. If you’re just about to dive into the world of Billie Eilish beyond her popular songs, go to this one for a taste of what you’re getting yourself into.
Skipping a bit to go along to “listen before i go,” which again creates an atmosphere within the scope of a calming song. Rain pattering in the background, the song reminds me heavily of something I would hear from Florence & The Machine, or in some cases, a “Sign of the Times” Harry Styles…maybe?
This song gives us a calm reprieve from the other electronic songs, and solidifies what we all thought, or perhaps knew: she may be young, but Eilish has one of the best voices in the game right now.
“When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” is immersive and best listened to with earbuds. It’s a mix of dance songs with vigorous breakdowns and light calming songs that are coupled with diegetic sounds of public scenes witnessed every day; there really is something on the album for everyone.
If this is her debut album, the one thing we can learn from it is that Eilish is an immovable force, and she’s only getting started on the long and successful path ahead of her.
Rating: 8 bad guys out of 10.