Essence Boyd—Copy Editor
The haunting carousel ride that is Billie Eilish has become the poster child for the new genre of introverted pop. With the help of her brother Finneas O’Connell, the 17-year-old choir singer gone mad has brought our worst nightmare and best daydream together to create a monstrous medley you will not be able to stop listening to.
Eilish and co-writer Finneas create music that taunt the sun with moody and deranged lyrics put together over hip-hop beats with dramatic base drops tied together with Eilish’s childlike voice to create “WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?”
Along with Eilish’s mesmerizing voice, one thing that people cannot seem to get over is just how young the artist actually is. She plays on this in the vague intro “!!!!!!!!” referring to her Invisalign, mocking those who scrutinize her for being too young for the industry.
Eilish combines eerie moods and the theme of heartbreak to create “when the party’s over” a song about a toxic relationship that needs to come to an end. “Don’t you know I’m no good for you/I’ve learned to lose you, can’t afford to.” Eilish has done all she can to fix the relationship and has become content with the idea of letting love go. One of the flaws of the relationship is how jealous her partner is which is why she tells them “I’ll call you when the party’s over.” However, once the party has come to an end the feeling of loneliness sets in, “Quiet when I’m coming home and I’m on my own/I could lie say ‘I like it like that.’” Despite hating the idea of being alone, being apart from each other is better than staying together. “But nothing is better sometimes/Once we both said our goodbyes/ Let’s just let it go/ Let me let you go.” Eilish and her audience updated on the failing relationship in “8” this time her voice is drained, tired of the back of forth finally deciding to leave. “So, I think I better go/I never really know how to please you.”
Eilish switches from soft to supreme to produce songs “you should see me in a crown” and “bad guy.” Both songs show the audience a new side of Eilish and just how versatile she can be. The confidence and persona Eilish portrays in the two songs is detrimental to the album, as they promote knowing one’s self-worth and being your own savior.
“How am supposed to make you feel okay/ When all you do is look the other way? /I can’t tell you how much I wish I didn’t want to stay/ I just kinda wish you were gay.”
As the title alludes, “wish you were gay” is about nothing other than being rejected, however, not by who you think. The single is about Eilish being rejected without any explanation by a guy, so she draws her own, or at least hopes this is the case to protect her own feelings.
The mousier songs of “WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” place you in a still room giving you a confusing sense of self, similar to Eilish’s 2017 EP. “I love you,” “listen before I go” and “ilomilo” blur the lines between past and present and stir up all the feeling you have forbidden yourself from feeling, I would not recommend listening to the remainder of the album without a box of tissues.
Photo Illustration: August Pelliccio
