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 it or not, the LA native is the incarnation of generation Z, an important turning point for the future of music. I don't think it's too early to tell, because in any case the 19 year old artist has already left her mark on popular music. I could have written these same sentences 2 years ago if I could have analyzed her first album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go, in front of the phenomenon. Beyond the social criteria, Billie Eilish also represents and describes the current face of Pop music. That is to say, a hybrid, multicultural, crazy, spontaneous version, which basically seeks to open new paths. In spite of her young age, her irregularity, Billie Eilish may be the perfect candidate to break these barriers. We feel undeniably this artistic ambition, a potential to be polished, and a personal signature that stands out more and more. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go proved that it was possible to offer unbridled, imperfect, dark and uninhibited pop that doesn't limit itself to established conventions, and its wide success testifies to the fact that the public is ready to move on.
2 years later, the pandemic in the meantime, Billie Eilish did not let herself get carried away by the glittering fame she had to endure at the age of only 19. Eilish is well surrounded by a family of artists. Finneas the big brother who always has an eye on her, sharing a fusional relationship. But also parents actors who know how to manage with experience these situations. A context allowing her to work on her second album Happier Than Ever, with less pressure than before. The artist herself has done everything to ensure that this second album corresponds to her artistic desires. A healthy but audacious bet, since we know that a part of pressure also allows to surpass oneself. Passing the test of the consecration with the success of its first album, Billie Eilish and its brother, inseparable leaned on unexplored facets of its author to retranscribe it with the biggest possible freedom. This is the big difference. Stretched over more than a year and a half of work, in the heart of Finneas' home studios, the temple of expression where Eilish has flourished since the beginning of her career, Happier Than Ever takes shape over 56 minutes.
The overall theme of Happier Than Ever plays with a delicate mix of reality and irony as it encompasses Billie Eilish's recent handling of success. From her development as a young adult, the difficulties she experienced, the perception of sexuality, the vision of fulfillment but also a journey of relationships that have marked her, the singer displays both her vulnerability and her deep desire to shed light on the dark sides of a life. Billie Eilish will continue to offer a pop album that has nothing to do with generic, radio station-flavored content. Instead, Happier Than Ever opens with the smashing Getting Older, a heartbreaking ballad where Billie opens up about the evils of the music industry and sexual harassment. We then find all the signature Eilish style, a minimalist but vibrant instrumentation, which grows in a crescendo. On this one Eilish delivers poignant melodies, almost whispered as usual. The writing is always sprinkled with this small lightness which finally corresponds to this way in which the young people manage their traumas and the tests, not seeing necessarily the evil because of the carelessness. On the one hand Happier Than Ever is so personal, introspective in each song, like a kind of puzzle. On the other hand, Billie Eilish is the spokesperson of a fragile youth, under construction but in need of support. Several times in the album, Billie Eilish invites us to erase the toxic relations whatever the cause (I Didn't Change My Number, Lost Cause...). By showing us the example, we manage to understand what the singer was trying to do in order to reach the happiness, if I widen the lines of her philosophical reflections.
Happier Than Ever is also very versatile and colorful like the first album. In fact probably more. However, the album systematically respects certain constraints imposed by the formula, i.e. a minimalism pushed to its paroxysm and a rhythm which never exceeds the mid-tempo. There is no better example than Billie Bossa Nova, an exotic and sensual ballad that opens new doors to her music. Like the previous one, My Future, the first single released in July 2020, begins the changes present on this second album. We erase the dark and anxious aspects of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go for some more optimistic, radiant as if Billie Eilish had never shown that she was so close to happiness. All this fits with the title of the album Happier Than Ever. I even think that My Future is the starting point of the album's concept. This delightful R&B ballad starts with a particular soft downtempo vibe that comes to evolve into a groovy and dynamic atmosphere. A way of expressing the distinction between the past, the present and the future. Although it's not a first for her to sing in this way, Billie Eilish manages to push her voice and handle the melody as she has never done before. We really feel this spark, symbol of a course in the interpretation. Besides, it is difficult not to succumb to the charms of her catchy melodies.
One thing is sure, this new opus takes only few risks because the talent of its singer and the well oiled formula of Finneas are enough to ensure the essential. Oxytocin is perhaps the only real song that strays from its comfort, with a powerful industrial techno. A major song of this new project, both musically but also for its theme that joins the many times Billie Eilish talks to us about sexuality, femininity. We notice by there, even if it was already the case from the beginning of the album, the certain maturity of the author, one of the other strong point of this second album. GOLDWING is also the proof of a controlled slip that works well. Billie Eilish is never so strong at the moment when she relies on her formula to stretch it towards other things. Conversely, it gets stuck almost 1 out of 2 times. To illustrate, Lost Cause isn't a bad song, but it's not an indispensable part of this album either (musically, not thematically). This R&B breakup ballad is another example of introspection for Billie Eilish. She plays with irony on a rather warm song to confuse the listener and emphasize the fact that even though the relationship is doomed to fail. The feelings of the past give the impression of clinging to the impossible at first and leaves indelible traces later.
Halley's Comet is also a symbol of Billie's desire to offer us delicate ballads. We can underline the correlation between the ballads and the love themes that we find in the album, where the author is always angry to have succumbed to the charms of the person. Once again, Billie immerses us in her intimacy, showing her vulnerability and naivety that finally make the charm of the character. That is to say that although we are not on an incredible content either, it really has that emotion that comes out when the song is successful. Halley's Comet is so pure that it works. Not to mention the break and the echo effects on the last verse that add the final touch, a simple but effective little delight. As a counterpoint, when Billie Eilish is not indulging in sentimental ballads, she uses her space to make her femininity speak and make the listener react. The spoken world Not My Responsibility is a surprise, another important piece of this new album. Paradoxically, the intensity offered by the overwhelming themes of this album are a definite strength, but on the other hand it also points to the human gravity. It is here that it joins the idea that Billie Eilish is the spokesperson of the generation Z, reached by the social networks, the parallel and virtual world, the isolation of course. Overheated sounds like an evidence, a subject that touches many individuals, even more with the internet and social networks. Musically, Overheated also ensures, with a mixture Trap/Trip Hop hypnotic.
Thematically Billie Eilish never gives up and rarely shows laziness. Add to that the maturity and the improvement of the interpretation, and you have in my opinion the important points to remember about this album. For the purely musical content, there is still too much irregularity and too few exceptional moments. On a delightful minimal orchestration of which Finneas has the secret, Billie Eilish wanders on the paths of a Folk/Americana very tendency at present among the Pop superstars on Your Power. I note in my analysis some nuances, as much positive as negative. This song is good, touching by its subject, delicious by the fusion between the interpretation and the musicality. One could say that once again Eilish deviates from her comfort zone, but in another sense she joins the siblings of a Folk ballad that we are starting to get used to now. What bothers me is that even if there are surprises in the intention, they are only half-tone because in my opinion Eilish shines by its ability to exercise a counterweight among the Pop competition, and not to reproduce what is common. Conversely on NDA, Billie Eilish attempts to evolve her signature into a suffocating electronic dance. Let's say this song serves as a perfect intermediary between the first and this second album. This one is also supported by the fact that the singer delivers a deep introspection, articulated around her management of the fame. We feel very close to the author, especially when all the ingredients are gathered. Therefore I am could have been on When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go without any problem. Although we feel an ease and a slight improvement of this broken formula, Therefore I am is too much here.
Billie Eilish had offered us a very touching finale on her previous album, it is the same for this one. The eponymous song keeps all its promises, a soft/Lo-FI ballad that turns into an Indie Rock firework, which adds a little brutality to the album so that it is perfectly dosed. A last Folk ballad, Male Fantasy that comes to close the subject of femininity and sexuality. By the way, I find it surprising that the album ends with Male Fantasy instead of the eponymous song, but let's say it's not bad either. To conclude, I will say that I am convinced of this new album, it is a step forward for Billie and I must say that the singles released before had not entirely brought me satisfaction. If on the musical level I am not entirely conquered, the themes are really an asset and I did not expect so much from it, especially at the age of 19 years. I am rather reassured for the future, even if the third stage will be the most complicated.