WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish Album Review

Billie Eilish brought out her first full album, and let me tell you – I’M OBSESSED.

First of all, the album cover is a pretty even mix of cool, creepy and also cute, especially with the effect of the full white eyeshadow agains the pitch black background.

As of right now, Billie has 15 million Instagram followers, which I would say makes her quite famous! Just like those other millions of fans, I have been eagerly anticipating this album ever since she announced it back in January, along with releasing her single, ‘Bury a Friend’.

I think one of the reasons I find her and her music so incredible is because of that really unique mix of an almost disconcerting feeling, yet also calming at the same time. She describes the complicated mind of being teenager and the high emotions that come with it in an innovative way that isn’t just that mind numbing drone of a lot of modern day pop music.

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? consists of four singles released prior to the album and then ten fresh tracks:

1. !!!!!!!

To be honest, this track is kind of weird; but I guess it’s a little bit of Billie in 14 seconds isn’t it?

If you don’t understand this one, basically Billie wears invisible braces so this is a short track of her removing them (making pretty gross ASMR slobbering kind of sounds!) and then laughing with a few people around her as she says “I’m taking out my invisialign, here’s the album” , so technically it’s not one of the songs – kind of cool nonetheless.

2. bad guy

This is definitely one of my favourite songs on the album. It has a beat you can really dance to, which is sometimes rare in her music. The lyrics are witty and clever as Billie teases and taunts a lover, even going quite far as to talk about seducing his dad (what?!) and I’m not sure how I feel about that lyric!

This is also the new single going along with the release of the album; the music video for it being brought out on the same day which is equally as crazy! I recommend giving it a watch if you haven’t already.

3. xanny

When I listened to this album for the first time I used used headphones – and let me tell you TURN THEM DOWN if you listen to this one. The shaky bass is enough to nearly explode them. That being said, this song is another great one that talks about Billie’s battle with anxiety with deeply sad lyrics in parts, singing with a feeling of sad desperation in her voice “I can’t afford to love someone/ who isn’t dying by mistake in Silver Lake.” “What is it about them/ I must be missing something.”

4. you should see me in a crown

This was the first single released for this album which consists of a fairly normal verse before the before the bass drops for the chorus. This song is actually inspired by BBC’s show Sherlock, from the evil psychopath Professor Moriarty.

5. all the good girls go to hell

This one is my other favourite on the album along with bad guy. It also has a good best, beginning with bells chiming, then launching into song. Billie displays a lot of religious references, indicating even God has enemies (the devil). It’s interesting that she refers to God as a ‘she’, as people have been debating this quite a bit recently, so clearly she believes God really is a woman (@Ariana Grande!)

6. wish you were gay

wish you were gay is one of the more heartfelt songs on the album. Billie likes someone who doesn’t return the feelings, and she wishes the reason they don’t like her back is because they’re gay, instead as it would be easier to accept than plain rejection.

This song was first published on soundcloud back a couple of years ago and she finally decided to put it on her album!

7. when the party’s over

One of the more ballad type songs on the album, and the last second released on it, most people know and love this song as it really highlights Billie’s vocal skills and she sings it with raw emotion which makes it special.

8. 8

If you’re a ukulele player, this song is PERFECT to learn. It begins with a sort of distorted high pitched version of Billie’s voice, which I wasn’t sure if it was her singing at first. The title doesn’t really have any resemblance to the song which tells the story of a relationship running its course and ultimately ending, but it’s not quite as deep as so some of the other songs.

9. my strange addiction

As an openly huge fan of The Office, this song is basically taken from one of the scenes in a season 7 episode of the show, featuring a couple of clips from it too. However it still has that chilling Billie Eilish feel to it, which makes it unique to her.

10. bury a friend

Here we have the song that inspired the title, and also the entire feel and direction of the album, one of the lyrics from Bury a Friend, “when we all fall asleep, where do we go?” Billie explained this track is about her battle with the monster under her bed and the demons inside her, revealing that sometimes she is her own worst enemy, which I think we can all relate to at times.

11. ilomilo

While listening and researching this song, I actually discovered that this song has a really creative meaning. Ilomilo is a board game from 2010 where you have to unite ‘ilo’ and ‘milo’, and this song is about the fear of separation which is a cool metaphor.

12. listen before i go

listen before I go possibly has the deepest and most serious meaning out of all of the songs on this album. Billie confirmed this one is about her battle with depression and suicide, and lost faith in love may play a big part in this decision after trying to fix it.

*If you ever feel yourself experiencing suicidal thoughts, please talk to someone or call The Samaritans at 116 123*

13. i love you

Billie is in love, but doesn’t want to say it as she tends to conceal her emotions. She ends up not saying it back when her boyfriend tells her he loves her, ending up making him cry!

14. goodbye

The final track on the album is basically summing up the entire thing, actually consisting of a line from each song from WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? which I think is a really cool idea. goodbye is short and chilled, the title almost signing off her album.

Summing up the album, I think it’s a Billie Eilish sound through and through, full of chilling sounds, double meaning lyrics deeper than the ear can tell at times and frequent chilling imagery. There is a good range of slightly more upbeat songs, ballads and her own unique sounds, however I did find a couple of them to kind of end up becoming background noise at some points – but not every song can be a standout!

I read a few reviews before that classed this as a typical teenage fan girl sound, but I disagree. Billie Eilish’s music is far from generic, receptive and boring pop music, her lyrics extremely creative and her sounds are quite something special. She’s still only 17 so just think about how much better her songs can get from here!

Rating: 9/10