Forget what you know about Billie Eilish. The days of green and black hair, big, shaggy clothing, terrifying spiders, and gothic sounds are no more. Though Billie’s first album was quite a success, her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, feels more authentic and cohesive. The album itself generated so much buzz that it broke Billie’s former record for total Apple pre-ads before its release. Along with dying her hair golden blonde, Billie has reinvented herself in ways we would never expect. She not only confronts her fame, but criticizes it. She luckily takes us along for the ride as she does so.
Billie Gets Real on “Getting Older”
Each song is quite literally more beautiful than the next – and that’s hard to do with an introductory track like “Getting Older”. Billie’s signature falsettos are, of course, a focal point of the song, but her lyrical genius is what is truly on display. The album itself is a critique of the life of stardom – the paparazzi, the blinding cameras, the judgement. On this melancholy track, Eilish sings, “Things I once enjoyed / Just keep me employed now.” Over a stripped-down melody, Billie reintroduces herself as a human, not just a celebrity.
“Oxytocin” is Electric
It’s hard to pick a favorite off Happier Than Ever, but “Oxytocin” is a top contender. The track, its beat reminiscent of “Bad Guy,” is absolutely electric. Billie Eilish lets us know through silky vocals that she’s not the quiet, reserved 17-year-old we once knew. She’s bold and quite brilliant and best of all, she knows it.
Billie Gets Vulnerable
Though the entire album contains not a single skip, “Halley’s Comet” and “Male Fantasy” are absolute must-listens. Happier Than Ever, like its predecessor, is written entirely by Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas. Not only is Billie’s incredible voice on display, her lyrical brilliance is also key component to these songs. She gets vulnerable – arguably the most vulnerable we’ve ever heard her – and recalls falling in love (and perhaps out of it). Heartfelt lyrics of “Halley’s Comet”, such as “I’ve been loved before, but right now in this moment / I feel more and more like I was madе for you” tell a different story than that of “Male Fantasy”.
A chilling chorus on the latter speaks of heartbreak, as Billie coos, “Guess it’s hard to know/ When nobody else comes around / If I’m getting over you / Or just pretending to.” Both of these songs are achingly beautiful in their own right, but Billie’s mature, vulnerable songwriting makes them truly stand apart from the rest.
“Happier Than Ever,” the album’s title track, is a completely earth-shattering take on a former relationship. After a booming instrumental break, Billie shows us her angry side. She sings, “I don’t relate to you / I don’t relate to you, no / ‘Cause I’d never treat me this shitty / You made me hate this city.” We see that though she is one of the biggest artists of our generation, Billie is just as human as we are.
Do you enjoy this album just as much as we do? Let us know in the comments!
Awesome article !