I’m a big fan of Billie Eilish and her subversive pop. I’ve been known to play the ‘Billie Eilish Essentials’ iTunes playlist on high rotation whilst driving, which is something I do a lot. There was a lot of build-up about her latest album, ‘Happier Than Ever’, and I wasted no time in bundling my faithful Labrador in my car and going for a long drive in the glorious Adelaide Hills to have a listen.
First impressions? Subdued. Grown up. In control of her destiny.
I was hoping for banging tunes like her earlier ‘bad guy’, ‘bury a friend’ and ‘you should see me in a crown’, and their fabulous videos. Certainly nothing bouncy in the first two thirds of the album, apart from ‘Oxytocin’. But persevere, because the second-to-last track, the title track, blossoms into an absolute cracker of a rock track with distorted bass and drums. As he does throughout this album, Billie’s brother Finneas is masterful with the music. Fewer pyrotechnics this time around than Billie’s first album ‘WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?’, fewer tricks like sampling a match striking its box to end up as a snare drum, but the balance between instrument and Billie’s sublime voice is delicate and perfectly held. But, speaking of Finneas, I was impressed at how he segued between some tracks, so that beats were seamlessly run from one track to the next. It’s a neat mastering trick.
Stand out tracks for me include ‘my future’, the classic ‘Lost Cause’, ‘Therefore I Am’, ‘Your Power’ and the album’s title track.
Do yourself a favour and hunt out her lyrics, because she has a way with words. Listen, in particular, to ‘Not My Responsibility’ while reading the words. She writes powerfully, particularly about previous boyfriends; I would hate to be her beau, I’d be ever fearful that I’d disappoint her and end up being lacerated in a song.
