It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since a then 13-year-old Billie Eilish uploaded her debut single Ocean Eyes to Soundcloud and became one of the world’s biggest stars overnight.

Since then she’s released her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, a multiple Grammy award-winning introduction to the artist and her unique brand of dark and avant-pop.

Now, the highly anticipated release of Eilish's appropriately titled sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, sees the singer and her brother/producer/co-songwriter Finneas O'Connell leave behind many of the darker elements of past records for a journey through jazz, rock and even folk.
 

Eilish and Finneas never intended on making a second album so soon after the first but, confined to their homes like so many in 2020, writing and recording was the only way to spend time.

There is no doubt that Eilish has achieved a lot more than most over her very few years on earth. The accomplished vocalist has only just turned 19, so it’s somewhat natural that a great deal of her second album is dedicated to tales of heartbreak, loss and love.

Eilish’s fanbase has grown with her and Happier Than Ever allows her typically younger audience to be exposed to a plethora of genres that would normally be unfamiliar to them.

Eilish has grown up in the public eye and it appears a combination of having no deadline and fewer industry pressures have amounted to a special sauce that makes Happier Than Ever a truly great release.

The first tracks on the album – Getting Older, I Didn’t Change My Number, and Billie Bossa Nova – start the musical genre journey, with the latter aptly titled song being an interesting foray into a jazz style.

Getting Older, as the name suggests, deals with the changes of maturing, and gives us an interesting insight into the mind of Eilish and how she’s dealt with the immense pressure of becoming one of the world’s biggest stars.

The Jazz vibes continue throughout the album, with my future and Halley’s Comet both showing audiences an unfamiliar but welcome side to the singer.

Many of the other tracks, Oxytocin, OverHeated, NDA, Lost Cause, and Therefore I Am each sound like they could’ve been heard on When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? but each coming from the view of a singer who’s had some life experiences and wants to share them with listeners.

In recent interviews, Eilish has noted that a lot of decisions around the album were about making it “timeless”. This is reflected in a number of songs such as GOLDWING, which opens with a wondrous a cappella section that sounds like it belongs in a 1960s film, and Your Power, which sounds reminiscent of early Joni Mitchell or Bob Dylan.

The album closes with Happier Than Ever and Male Fantasy, with the title track unlikely to be forgotten. The gradual build up to the emo-rock outro takes you on a tumultuous journey through a lot of Eilish's darkest and happiest emotions, and will stay with you for a very long time.

The track itself sounds like the perfect culmination of the emotions behind Eilish’s personal life and the year that was. This mammoth of a song shows audiences a side to the vocalist that isn’t familiar.

The track’s beginning is in stark contrast with its ending, almost acting like two seperate pieces, but their differences are what makes the song work so well. The second half also allows Eilish to expose the higher end of her vocals – with an immense amount of strength – which is unfamiliar across a number of her songs.

Happier Than Ever could easily have worked as an outro to the album, but for a demographic who may be unfamiliar with these heavier stylings, a return to the classic Billie Eilish sound is required. It’s exactly what fans get with the final track on the album, Male Fantasy, a laid back, acoustic track that winds down Happier Than Ever perfectly.

Happier Than Ever is the epitome of a perfect album – it’s got everything you’d want out of a release, elements of Rock, Folk, and Jazz, singalong moments, sad moments, and lots more.

With Eilish’s experience at the top of the music industry, writing and recording Happier Than Ever in a relaxed state with no label interference has truly made the album special. The music deals with emotions and sounds that we haven’t heard from the singer – and it pulls the listener in, holds them tight, and never lets them go.