Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

By: Bri Bradley

Billie Eilish is a seventeen-year-old superstar. Billie recorded her first song “Ocean Eyes” when she was fourteen-years-old and it has accumulated over 267 million streams on Spotify as of April 2019. Billie Eilish’s debut EP, Don’t Smile At Me, was released in August 2017, is certified gold, and has caused her to become one of the world’s largest up and coming artists of her generation. Billie has toured all over the world, performed at multiple festivals, and has many certified platinum, silver, and gold tracks all before she is even considered a “legal” adult. Billie’s latest album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, was released on March 29, 2019 with the tracks “you should see me in a crown”, “when the party’s over”,“bury a friend”, and “wish you were gay” being the first to be released. Each single had a completely different vibe but were each incredible in their own way and made me confident that Billie’s latest album would be outstanding.

The album opens with a short snippet of conversation between Billie and her brother Finneas talking about her Invisalign, which gave me a good laugh. “I have taken out my Invisalign and this is the album,” Billie says. Billie has always been quirky, so I enjoyed that she used that as the start of the album. The first actual track of the album is “bad guy”, and it couldn’t have been a better choice for an opening track. From the second it starts to the ending note, it shows off Billie’s edgy side and I am here for it; I was hooked instantly. The song is a track with cheeky lyrics like, “make your girlfriend mad type” and “might seduce your dad type” along with others. From the production to the lyrics, the song drew me in and had me so ready for the rest of the album.

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? explores dreams and what goes on in our heads when we fall asleep. Each song represents a different dream Billie has had, which is an absolutely genius album concept. One of the main reasons I fell in love with Billie Eilish was because of her incredible lyrics. Considering Billie is so young, she writes beautifully. Billie has said in interviews that she writes many of her songs from someone else’s perspective, not just her own and maybe that’s why she is able to create such beautiful music. I had high expectations for this project lyrically and thankfully it did not disappoint. Whether the lyrics are edgy or heartbreaking, I was just as impressed as ever with Billie’s writing ability. The production on this album also deserves the highest of praises. Each track has a completely different sound and is produced flawlessly. From the beats, to the background vocals and sounds, to the editing, the production team went above and beyond.

The album winds down with the tracks “listen before i go”, “i love you”, and “goodbye”. “listen before i go” and “i love you” are slower, sadder tracks from the album and really hit deep in your soul and show off Billie’s versatility and soft side.  “I love you but I don’t want to,” Billie swoons in “i love you”, which had me in tears. You can hear the emotion and heartache in her voice and it brought me back to my first heartbreak; it makes me feel for her more than ever. It is a track everyone who has experienced heartbreak can relate to. The final track “goodbye” absolutely blew my mind. It brings in references to each of the tracks off the album and blends them all together into an eerie and beautiful finale. Once again, production outdoes itself.

This was one of the most anticipated albums of 2019 for not only Billie fans and Billie critics, but industry professionals wanting to know what’s next for this seventeen-year-old super star. Billie has crafted a niche for herself in the industry and doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. I see nothing but the brightest of future’s for Billie Eilish and I cannot wait to see where her career takes her.

Favorite tracks: “bad guy”, “all the good girls go to hell”, “my strange addiction”, “when the party’s over”, and “i love you”

Rating: 10/10