Billie Eilish is unapologetically weird. Her latest album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go, is inspired by the night terrors she suffered while recording it – and trust me, it shows.
This album is an eclectic mash of ideas that really shouldn’t work together, but all do. From songs that could pass for show tunes to samples of U.S. TV series The Office, this record has it all.
The opening track, bad guy is a sinister, theatrical tune that wouldn’t seem out of place in a Henry Selick film, while songs like listen before i go and i love you are slow piano ballads that are much more haunting than spooky.
With booming bass and heavy distortion featured in many tracks, the album screams Halloween but artsy.
Standouts from the album include personal favourite, when the party’s over, an ode to loneliness that shows off Eilish’s impressive vocals, and all the good girls go to hell, an edgy anthem with religious symbolism and distorted organ chords.
However, with impressive highs come definite low points. 8 is a track that is interesting stylistically, but with the verses sung in a high-pitched baby voice, it becomes grating very quickly. The rest of the album no doubt makes up for its few weak links.
While she has been compared to artists like Lorde and Lana Del Rey, on this album, Eilish makes her own unique voice heard and proves that she deserves a place on the pop charts.
Overall, this album is nothing like modern pop has seen before. Haunting and sinister, Billie Eilish’s new release has attracted some well deserved attention and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Music Editor of Brig Newspaper
