Billie Eilish is critically acclaimed in the music industry for being the first artist born in the 21st century to top the Billboard charts. She achieved this accomplishment with her first studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Released on March 29, 2019, Billie and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, produced and wrote the album together, under the guidance of her label, Darkroom / Interscope Records. She was only 17 at the time of the album’s release and was highly praised for her unique voice. Billie explores her hush tone and attempts to incorporate every element she can create in this album. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? holds 14 songs for a runtime of about 45 minutes.
Introduction
Billie and her brother started to write the album in 2016. They constantly tweaked and changed the tracks, until they felt it was perfect. Through lyricism and sound, Billie takes us on a journey of struggles with drug addiction, heartbreak, modern childhood, and mental health issues in this well-crafted album. Being Billie’s first studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a pop album that pairs strangely well with Billie’s whisper tone, being emphasized by the heavy bass and acoustic elements.
Her vocal style wasn’t popularized in the music industry at the time of release and was what separated her from the mainstream artists that had currently topped the charts. Even though the album is categorized as pop, Billie takes lots of influence from EDM, R&B, synth, and even jazz. As said before, Billie really does do everything in this album using many different genres and adding her own take to them, which gives this album something for everyone.
Production
Billie’s brother, Finneas, had the most control over production, with Billie and her label adding some input. Billie wanted this album to be multiple different genres, so Finneas incorporated simple percussion instruments with heavy bass and guitar along with random sounds of everyday objects like glass and bells. All of these elements amplify the music because they help add emotions to her words and elevate her tone. Finneas wonderfully crafted songs to match his sister’s beautiful tone.
On the tracks, there are also snips of conversations added in. For example, in “strange addiction”, clips of the popular TV show “The Office” are added to emphasize Billie’s obsession with the show and to add humor to the otherwise very depressing album. Other snips of conversation are added to give depth to the album and make the tracks feel more grounded, building an environment that shows that her message is conveyed in the world outside of music; that even though someone can escape into music, they will always still be in the world they live in.
Vocal Performance
Billie Eilish has such a unique tone that to this day, it still is very hard to replicate. Throughout this album, she uses her hushed and whisper-like tone to elevate the feel of each of the songs. She has amazing breath control that can be heard with her long holds on certain notes; however, one can hear her breathy sound that forwards her soft tone. Her voice makes the listener feel calm, yet alert. It also shows her vulnerability and changes the idea of what a good singer should sound like.
Her tone adds to the depressing songs on this album by conveying a melancholy sound that isn’t just the instruments or the lyrics. Her range is small; however, she uses that to her advantage. She keeps her voice lower in an attempt to come off as miserable and regretful. The album would not have been as popular had it been for her eccentric tone.
Meaning
Every song on this album has a deep meaning behind it. The album takes us on a trip through a persona of Billie’s. Through four acts, we learn the actions of Billie and the consequences she gives herself for them. The album starts with themes of greed and pride. In the tracks “bad guy” and “you should see me in a crown”, she establishes a character that is seen as a monster and is constantly evil. She haunts her past lovers and presents herself as “power-hungry”. In the second act, with songs like “all the good girls go to hell”, Billie is corrupted and believes that she knows what is best for her. She is self-destructive and is constantly blaming others for her problems. We learn that Billie’s persona of being the “bad guy” was created after her crush rejected her.
“my strange addiction” and “bury a friend” take us into the third act where Billie has lost herself to addiction and her inner demons. She only wants to be with her crush even after his rejection and loses herself to alcohol. The album concludes with the fourth act of suicide with the tracks “listen before i go” and “goodbye”. We see Billie’s persona contemplate suicide and reinstate that though she regrets all of her actions, she still is a “bad guy”.
Conclusion
Billie Eilish wrote an incredible story in this album. She crafts a perfect narrative that is paired perfectly with her soft and hushed tone. Her brother added incredible instruments and different elements of music to this album, that further showcased the genius mind of Billie Eilish. This is Billie Eilish’s best album, and it was an amazing start to her professional career.
Song Ranking:
- “goodbye”
- “listen before i go”
- “wish you were gay”
- “i love you”
- “when the party’s over”
- “you should see me in a crown”
- “bury a friend”
- “all the good girls go to hell”
- “ilomilo”
- “strange addiction”
- “xanny”
- “bad guy”
- “8”
- “!!!!!!!”
Strongest Track: Every single song on this album is amazing and all deserve to be recognized in their own way, but “goodbye” is such a fantastic way to conclude this album. It takes elements from every song on the album and combines them together to showcase a final theme of heartbreak. The song conveys leaving a relationship and feeling lost, taking us on a journey of feeling vulnerable and being able to overcome it. Billie closes the album with a perfect, final goodbye to her listener.
Weakest Track: “!!!!!!!” is the weakest track on this album. There is no music involved in it and it’s just the prelude to the album. Billie just talks about how she has taken out her Invisalign and with that, the album can start. There is no vocals or music in this track and could be taken out without ruining the progression of the album.
Final Notes
Song rankings are always subject to change over time, so don’t take these too to heart. They also are just our opinion. We would love to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comment section below. We also suggest subscribing to our blog. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the form. That will allow you to receive emails of new blogs and maybe get them ahead of time. Finally, go give When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? a listen for yourself.