WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? is the debut album of the rising music icon Billie Eilish. The artist is constantly gaining steam and bringing her music and art to the next level and this particular album as a whole was probably the most anticipated release in the music world for 2019 so far. I loved every single song Billie has put up, her passion, unique style and attitude towards music and art and the fact that everything she does is so well executed. Needless to say, I was beyond excited for this release and I cannot pass the chance to give you my impression and commentary. I hope you enjoy it!

Before I start – if by any chance you missed the album take a look in Spotify or YouTube – it is worth it, I promise.

Billie was only 14 when she made herself known and started making her way to the top of the music world. Watching her grow as an artist and person, navigating her way in the music world and ruthlessly refusing to subjugate to any set norms or styles really filled my soul and inspired me. I was proud to see her rapid development and uniqueness shine in a world where it is so hard to be different. She stood out for sure.

Now, at the age of 17, she released her first full album and, I dare to say, completely exceeded the already high expectations.

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? is an album with a concept which gets deeper and more complicated with each song. You might even say it is an album about love – but it is made by Billie Elish so naturally, it is not the typical cheesy and already played out collection of love songs. The young artist has created songs for various situations involving one of the strongest emotions people feel and she has gone deep into her personal experience, traumas, and unanswered questions. The fourteen tracks represent a love story in it’s fullest going through different stages and effects of this strong emotion and depicting them in a brutally real and honest way without any censorship or filters.

Apart from love, elements of fear and death are merged very well within the duration of the album and create a realistic and haunting story about real life. It truly lets us dive into the mind of Billie Eilish like never before – she is vulnerable, real, genuine, and ready to take over the world.

A great point about this record is the experimentation which Billie decided to go for. The album has the unique approach of the artist towards music engraved on it. She has included various elements which are not seen in any other of her songs like strongly distorted voices, recordings of children’s voices, and samples from everyday life situations (f.x the dentist machine sound in Bury A Friend). All of those things are naturally not just randomly put into the record but actually contribute to the overall sounds, feel, and vibe of each song and have their perfect place.

The execution of the album is what really enchanted me – the order of the songs and the progression and diversity of super energizing and motivational (even badass songs – You Should See Me In A Crown) towards slow, heartfelt and overwhelmingly (in a good way) emotional ballads. Obviously, Billie and her team have put lots of effort into the perfect execution and arrangement of the songs and it is visible by the end result.

Track by track commentary

I will try to make this as short as possible, I promise!

!!!!!!! + Bad Guy

Starting with the intro (!!!!!!!), there can already be a few interpretations about the short several seconds fragment before Billie explodes with energetic and fast-paced rhythms and beats in Bad Guy. The feeling I get is a sense of warning that Billie is now free to do her thing after she has taken her Invisalign out (something which she frequently has complained restrains her and is terribly unpleasant for her). Another interpretation can be a direct reference to the album name since people usually take out their Invisalign out before going to bed – therefore Billie is now entering her world and the album can start.

As for Bad Guy – this is definitely one of my favorite tracks from WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? and it is, in my opinion, the most energizing and ecstatic song from the record. The song explores the controversial natures of both lovers in a relationship and exposes the thoughts which haunt Billie when it comes to romantic relationships. The steady and bass-heavy beat contributes to the exploding energy and vibe of the track and makes it easy to get addicted to the song and start moving your body in the rhythm.

Xanny

Another one of my top picks from the album Xanny is an amazing song where Billie boldly condemns the irresponsible drug use. Serving as a warning and sending several important messages, the song is slower and infused with distorted vocals to match the topic of drug use and unclear thinking. Several references about popular hip-hop artists (Lil Peep and XXXTentacion) can be spotted (maybe?) to make the song even more powerful.

You Should See Me In A Crown

You Should See Me In A Crown is one of the earliest singles Billie released and has a video which captures her eerieness and creepy style perfectly well. This is definitely one of the trademarks of the artist – the eerie and dark vibe she manages to engulf herself into.

The song is amazing – it is intense and builds up gradually to become heavy and badass with the fiery chorus and statement. Naturally it also has romantic elements and the overall topic is love related, however, it has other themes involved (self-love and self-esteem) and has a totally badass and ego-boosted feel to it which works great.

PS the references to Ocean Eyes is a very smart and playful move as well!

All The Good Girls Go To Hell

Billie really managed to play with biblical elements and metaphors in this one. She created a whole narrative exposing the truth about human nature using references to heaven and hell and even involving real-life events (the California fires) as an example of human nature. The song again has a hint of having something to do with love and romantic relationships but has a very different twist and perspective of it. The flow and beat are once again superb and match the vibe of the song and the progression of the narrative perfectly well.

Wish You Were Gay

Without any hidden metaphors this song clearly talks about an unrealized romance and (as Billie herself explains in an interview) a personal experience of the artist. Billie talks about her annoyance and irritation about a rejection and the inability of the person to clearly resolve the situation of none mutual interest. The lyrics are simply genius with a numeral progression which playfully adds to the development of the song. Very well composed and arranged the song is a slow ballad-like track which is super emotional and unfiltered. Talking about something that lots of us have had to go through, the song is easy to understand, relate to, and sympathize to – Billie has executed it perfectly to make it as impactful as possible.

When The Party’s Over

Eeerie vibes and creepy videos – this one is the definition. The second single of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? is another slow and super emotional song which sounds sad at first but has some restrained anger in it.

The song is painfully emotional, especially if you have been in the situation the artist describes. With minimum sounds effects and instrumentals, it is super sharp and strong and will definitely invoke some feeling within you.

8

A love song from a different perspective – in this one Billie speaks from the view of the person she has hurt (and yes, she confirmed this in an interview with Apple music which I cannot find but I distinctly remember reading). The song is extremely calm and steady depicting the feeling of acceptance and being sorry about what you did wrong. It also is a mix of various vocal elements also including a child’s voice. Extremely heartfelt and emotional this one is another rollercoaster to get into.

My Strange Addiction

Another one of the many faces of love and situations in which you end up because of it. Here Billie talks about a romance which he knows is going to end badly since the person she is attracted to is clearly toxic and dangerous for her. However, she cannot find the attraction and keeps on illustrating the situations with colorful and captivating metaphors.The song is super catchy and the chaorus is one of the most addictive ones she has produced yet – there is no way to song is getting out of yor head anytime soon.

Bury A Friend

BILLIE.

Now, this one is probably the best and most complete song on the album. In a dangerous and almost deadly discussion with herself (or her own monster) Billie talks about various things that go through her mind and keeps asking questions with no apparent answers. The song is also a direct reference to the album title since it heavily deals with the topics of the afterlife (maybe?) and has elements of an exercise Billie had with sleep paralysis which terrified her (right here). Also including elements of self-esteem issues and relationship problems the song has many various topics intertwined in such a way that they make complete sense.

The video and the song are both extremely creepy and even scary at times. Bury A Friend also features various sound effects empowering the creepiness and playing with our hearing and emotions. The song is an experience in itself and it shows one which Billie has been through extremely accurately.

Ilomilo

This song makes me wonder if the album is really about love or about fear. The entire vibe of the album is super creepy and kinda invokes worry into you and considering the lyrics of most songs including this one (as well as Bury A Friend and Xanny) it really shows that Billie is struggling with her fears mostly revolving around losing loved ones and not being able to maintain relationships.

With several references to other songs of the album, this one deals with being afraid of losing the people you love in one way or another. Billie represents this with a good flow of the lyrics (which are simply genius) and a slow but uncontrollable pace which might as well represent the lack of control we all have on the pace of our lives.

Listen Before I Go

Probably the most emotionally infused song on the album, also hard to listen to and not lose your head while doing it. This one deals with suicide and death once again and exposes another fear of Billie. Slow and dramatic including jazz elements this track is unavoidably impactful and will make you think about your life (and about others in your life). It almost sounds like a confession and serves to expose the truth of the struggle lots of people have to go through daily.

I Love You

Another super emotional and complicated song which is truly real and unfiltered. I Love You is the second part of the closing act of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (listen, before I go – I love you. Goodbye). The song is a complicated ballad about the uneasy and strange feeling of starting to fall in love and how the artist comes to deal with it and the worries and fears that come after it.

Goodbye

I find the last track of the album extremely interesting. We have an eerie and almost tragic feel and sound to the song and the way it is composed is simply brilliant.

The track features snippets of all the other songs from the album in reverse order. Combining different elements from the song Billie forms a short narrative which sounds slightly suicidal. An interesting way to end the album leaving listeners with lots of questions and concerns about the meaning of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Nevertheless, a perfect ending for this emotional rollercoaster.

This was my quick review of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? It is definitely going into my favorite albums collection and I am super happy to see what Billie is able to do. She keeps producing music of the highest quality with incredible storytelling and impact and this is just beautiful. I hope you enjoyed the post and it wasn’t too overwhelming. Thanks a lot for reading and please let me know what you think about the album! I would love to hear it.

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