Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever
Jul 30, 2021 (updated Jan 7, 2023)
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 record has less filler and Billie is spending time making each song relatively unique, and due to this, the album feels like less of a messy mush.

I think the key difference between this release and her debut is the experimentation. Billie experiments with song styles, even going as far as having a track that is entirely spoken word ("Not My Responsibility") which I personally think is great. She tries a more distorted indie sound on the title track (obviously inspired by Phoebe Bridgers) that also turns out fairly good. Other songs, even some of the more basic ones, still have some decent amount of experimentation (except for the complete pop ones like "Lost Cause" - a personal hatred of mine). I would say that overall, the best thing about this album is that Billie seems to be trying to develop her own unique sound and experiment with what she already has.
I'm a bit worried though. I'm sure many of you have heard about the negative reception a lot of her recent singles have been getting in the mainstream light (especially on TikTok for some reason), and I'm worried that she will devolve and go back to her more basic work because of this feedback.
I think the best step from here would either be to go forward with the experimentation and become something much vaster than she is, or go back to the simpler style she had before. I don't think she can stay in this middle ground for very long (especially with people making such harsh comments on social media).

Overall this album is okay. In my opinion, the best tracks are NDA, Oxytocin, Goldwing, Your Power, and Happier Than Ever and the worst track (by far) is Lost Cause.
Most of these songs represent well what I explained in the paragraph above:
NDA, Goldwing, Oxytocin, Happier Than Ever, etc show the experimental, memorable and new side of Billie. However, tracks like Lost Cause, Everybody Dies, and Halley's Comet show the stagnate and unmemorable side we are too used to.
I'll break down some sections I want to talk about here:

-The Vocals:
Billie's vocals are pretty much always great, and they stay very consistent throughout the whole album. I've gotten quite used to her voice after hearing so many of her songs, but it is still somewhat impressive to me. She knows how to utilize it relatively well (but still not near her full potential). I'm really glad she is exploring some new vocal effects as well, such as the unique autotune on NDA. Once again, this helps to give this track its own identity. I would like to hear Billie utilize her wonderful voice to greater effects in future work though, you can tell she is still sort of "playing it safe."
-The Production:
Pretty good... it's nothing to write home about and is mostly fairly standard, but it does shine on a few tracks. All of the more experimental sections she tried went pretty well, and I don't have many complaints here. This is usually what is to be expected with such a high budget pop-oriented record though.
-The Lyrics:
Not a whole lot to say about them but they are definitely better than the lyrics that were in her debut. Less cringe and off-putting lines are present here, seems that she is taking topics much more seriously and trying harder. The lyrics never blew me away, but there were definitely a few moments that surprised me a bit (such as in "Not My Responsibility"). Her maturity is helping with her lyrical abilities.
-Consistency:
The consistency of this record is not all that great, especially with some songs being significantly more interesting and ear-catching than others. However, I must commend the transitions and flow between songs, because it is actually quite good (especially for this type of record). I'm glad she actually tried to give some sort of cohesion to the record, instead of just sticking to a similar vibe or aesthetic and calling it a day.

Overall:
In my opinion, it's an okay album. Some of the songs are great, some are good, some are bad, most are still relatively unmemorable, but she is definitely going in the right direction. To be honest: this is about what I expected from the singles. Inconsistent, with it's moments, but ultimately something I won't be returning to much in the future (except for a few select tracks that stand out to me).
I was debating giving this record a 50, but I'm going to give it a 60 for now and see if it feels right. I do think most of the songs are relatively decent, and none get THAT low. Don't be surprised if I end up dropping this score though, as I'm unsure whether I will be commonly returning to any of this work and it may age poorly.

I hope in the future we will see Billie pushing new boundaries and developing a unique sound for herself more, as her potential is undeniable, and she is starting from a pretty solid point.

20 Comments
2y
@adriankristians Great! We are all allowed to have our own opinions :)
2y
Good review Trismom!
2y
@reaireaiweasei Thank you weasei :)
2y
Great review, Tristan!
2y
@heyleo Thank you very much!
2y
@BOSS_MAN ;)
2y
Great review, love seeing you more active on the site!! :)
2y
@cry Thank you very much Cry. Your review was great as well :)
2y
This is the review that I was looking for. I completely agree with you.
2y
@Maximrex Well thank you! I'm glad you liked it
2y
Words of wisdom
2y
damn it fell off
1y
you have good points and a positive perspective, but it seems to me that the number above the review doesnt match. anyway, i liked, hope to see more from ur profile.
1y
@oliveirapedroz his musical taste has changed a lot since then
1y
the way he praised the whole album and gave it a 40
1y
Seeing you praise albums so much and then giving them incredibly low scores makes me laugh uncontrollably 😭
1y
Rip the 60 lol - what made you lower the score?
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