Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
Critic Score
Based on 36 reviews
2021 Ratings: #60 / 753
Year End Rank: #14
User Score
2021 Rank: #98
Liked by 1,265 people
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Evening Standard

She still doesn’t sound anything like a glossy arena filler, which is a huge part of her appeal. She’s doing things very differently, which hopefully means a new way to survive too.

100
NME
‘Happier Than Ever’ fully establishes Billie Eilish as one of her generation’s most significant pop artists – and, better still, does so without repeating a single trick from the debut that turned her life upside down.
100
Gigwise

On her second full-length record Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish (alongside her producer/brother FINNEAS) has instigated a new direction that will inevitably ripple throughout our culture—and yeah, maybe even reset it.

100
DIY
Not just a triumph in progressing a signature sound into new territories, but a lesson in how to own your reality with confidence and class.
90
AllMusic

A subtle triumph in the face of overwhelming pressure and expectations, Happier Than Ever is the sound of an artist coming into their own.

90
Albumism
There is an elegance to this album that is hard to explain and even quantify, especially given some of the lyrical content, but it exists and is done with a bona fide confidence that is so refreshing to not only listen to, but also to watch unfold before our eyes.
90
Northern Transmissions

Eilish is a talent beyond her years and is able to condense these huge issues into easily understandable lyrics that not only showcase how talented she is but also how smart. It is a beautiful album and one that will inspire and provoke conversations for many years to come.

89
Still Listening

There’s no denying that Billie Eilish is a force to be reckoned with, and Happier Than Ever more than proves it.

86
Sputnikmusic

Happier Than Ever is an intimate project: trading off gaudy, angsty teen-attitude and a jarring dichotomy of styles for a much more grown up, sombre and focused collection of songs.

83
Entertainment Weekly

Happier is threaded through with old-soul reflections on the fame game and her place in it.

83
A.V. Club

Happier Than Ever is proof that, though her life may be very different now, Eilish’s talent for the alchemical process of making deeply personal matters into profound and empathetic music remains as strong as ever, if not more so.

80
The Observer
The teenage alt-pop sensation grows up and gets loose on her bold, retro-toned second album.
80
musicOMH

An album that consolidates and enhances Billie Eilish’s reputation as one of the stellar figures of her generation

80
RIOT

Billie Eilish and Finneas capitalize on Eilish’s vertiginous rise to fame by broadening their palette on Happier Than Ever without ever trying to recreate the hits that got them in this position.

80
The Irish Times
With unpredictable production that twists narratives around R&B melodies, dread-inducing techno beats and breezy jazz vocals, Eilish paints a suffocating picture of the confinements and exploitations of being a celebrity and a teenager.
80
The Forty-Five
One of the most anticipated albums of the year is here, and it exists entirely on its own terms. Billie Eilish may sing about the pressures of fame, but she has no intention of letting it get the better of her.
80
The Arts Desk
These are guttering torch songs, for a generation flinching from definition.
80
The Sydney Morning Herald
Courageously rebuffing the narratives that have been projected onto her, the singer forges her own path without regard for others’ expectations.
80
Paste

Billie Eilish continues to rise to the occasion on Happier Than Ever, staring down critics, naysayers and whatever the future holds while carrying self-love and compassion in her back pocket.

80
The Telegraph

Eilish's second album sees her tackle abuses of power in relationships, her lyrics pungent, her vocals layered in shimmering harmonies.

80
The Independent
The 19-year-old fills her second album with things most of us don’t have to deal with – NDAs, interviews, paparazzi – and yet she weaves them around universal woes.
80
The Guardian
On perhaps the most anticipated album of 2021, Eilish uses subdued yet powerful songwriting to consider how fame has seeped into every corner of her life.
80
Clash
Patiently moving into a new era, ‘Happier Than Ever’ is shrouded in a transformative darkness.
80
Slant Magazine

The songs on Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever seamlessly trace the singer’s path to happiness, or something close to it.

80
Rolling Stone
Her sophomore album documents her fears and traumas and still manages to sound astonishingly self-assured.
80
Exclaim!

It's not your typical upbeat pop album — instead, it's more reflective and subdued. Through it all, it stays true to the young artist that took over pop music in only a few short years.

76
Pitchfork
On her second album, Billie Eilish sings with unsparing honesty about her rapid ascent to stardom and all its accompanying horrors. It’s woozy, effortlessly melodic, and showcases her command over the pop landscape.
75
Under the Radar

Whilst it may not boast songs that stick with you for months in the way that Eilish’s first does, Happier Than Ever feels like a project that will age more gracefully and, in years to come, it may even come to eclipse that which came before it.

74
Beats Per Minute

Aesthetically, it may be polarizing compared to the hit factory that was her debut, but Happier Than Ever stands on its own as a powerfully flawed, overstuffed, but meaningful exploration of what it’s like to live as both a teenager and a superstar in ways that none before her felt comfortable saying.

70
The Needle Drop

While many of Billie and Finneas' strengths remain intact, Happier Than Ever is a much less cohesive listen than When We All Fall Asleep.

70
Spectrum Culture

Eilish is such an instinctive artist that she can’t help but make her album about the pitfalls of fame immensely entertaining.

70
FLOOD Magazine

Happier Than Ever, good as it is, is curiously self-defeating; it spends its duration bemoaning the suffocating trappings of Eilish’s newfound fame while also ensuring that she’s going to have to deal with the plaudits and attention for at least a little while longer.

70
The Young Folks

It’s lyrically worth all the attention you can put into it ... But musically, there’s a little disappointment for those of us who love being thrown curveballs by her songs. 

70
Loud and Quiet

Happier Than Ever is a brave record, because Eilish faces down the danger of alienating her fans with thematic ideas that, delivered clumsily, would be unsympathetic. In the main, though, she’s deft enough to nullify the risk.

70
PopMatters

Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever mostly navigates a mix of downtempo and glitchy ambience, framing her as Gen Z’s resident chanteuse.

60
The Line of Best Fit

Packed with slow burns often blurring into each other, it’s a record to sit with and study - if you’ve got the time.

BradTasteMusic
96

Stunning.

Breathtaking vocals, flawless production, and a wonderful tracklisting. This album turned me from a sceptic to a believer. I also have no doubt that this album will be huge, maybe even more than her last album. This is such a mature turn for Billie. I was not a fan of the fantasy, edgy stuff on her last project. I am a fan of nearly every single idea on this new one, down to the spoken word interlude of Not My Responsibility, to the most intense corners of this project. Billie is on ... read more

Tristan
NR

It was obvious from the beginning that Billie Eilish's new album "Happier Than Ever" would be significantly more mature than her previous works. You could see this in the name, the cover art, and some of the singles. I've been excited to see this progression of her, and I can say that it is definitely rewarding. This new album, in my opinion, is absolutely better than her debut (and by quite a large margin). It is much more atmospheric, experimental, and memorable. It feels like the ... read more

Doublez
78

On Happier Than Ever, Billie expands and refines her formula, giving it a bigger dimension than in the past. Thematically, this new album is overwhelming, urgent and poignant, showing all the will of its author to break the codes of the Pop.

The interest of the music industry for very young talents has always existed. So has the self-taught development of this type of artist. However, the case of Billie Eilish is to be classified among the exceptions, as out of the ordinary. Whether you like ... read more

Joaonascc
100

so good

Wolf_Ceunen
88

Edit: 74 -> 88

What the hell was my arrogant know-it-all ass on? This is am absolutely beautiful record with powerful messages and calming instrumentals that just feel like they can swallow you whole if you dive too deep. I think this may be something I'll put on regularly when I'm feeling anxious, it shares that spot with "A Moon Shaped Pool", so good job!

Anyways, I'm beyond hyped for the next record of course.

JuniperLovesMus
90

Omg me when

Purchasing Happier Than Ever from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1Getting Older
4:04
80
2I Didn't Change My Number
2:38
80
3Billie Bossa Nova
3:16
82
4my future
3:30
82
5Oxytocin
3:30
83
6GOLDWING
2:31
79
7Lost Cause
3:32
75
8Halley's Comet
3:54
79
9Not My Responsibility
3:47
72
10OverHeated
3:34
78
11Everybody Dies
3:26
75
12Your Power
4:05
82
13NDA
3:15
83
14Therefore I Am
2:53
80
15Happier Than Ever
4:58
93
16Male Fantasy
3:14
81
Total Length: 56 minutes
Sign in to comment
1w
1w
3w
3w
1mo


Added on: April 27, 2021