Billie Eilish really comes into her own with this album, fully tapping into that weird and wonderful personality she exudes in her music. You only need look at the cover of this album to understand what you're getting into. Is it a perfect experience? Well... almost. (We'll get to it.) But I feel confident in saying that if you like your pop music a little weird, but also sincere, you can't go wrong listening to this album.
What I find most remarkable about this album is how cohesive it is despite half the songs containing some kind of joke or ironic self-awareness about them, while the other half could be described as ballads. It's two extremes in one album, and yet it all comes together because Billie Eilish (and her brother) are masters at lyricism. Every song tells such a captivating story with the most minute details exaggerated to convey just the right level of terror or heartbreak. It's what turns a song like "i love you" from being a simple ballad to being a masterclass in writing and performance.
Speaking of performance, Billie deserves a lot of credit for breathing these songs to life. All the great lyrics in the world are fine, but it's just written poetry if you don't have an appropriate medium to deliver them. Thankfully, Billie's eccentric vocal delivery combined with Finneas' wonky production give these songs exactly the stage that they need. Almost all of them work near-perfectly, minus... one.
"8" is the black sheep of this album. I guess it's not terrible, but the one decision they made to manipulate Billie's vocals to sound like a little kid is a bit too jarring, even for this album. The album is filled with decidedly unpleasant noises like overproduced buzzing, but they seem to work in the context of the album. "8" sticks out like a sore thumb, and I kinda wish it was left off, because it keeps this album from being perfect. But other than that, this album is perfect. It's the perfect full-length debut from Billie to really introduce her to the mainstream, and it's full of great moments that keep me wanting to listen over and over again.
9/10
Best Tracks: "bad guy", "xanny", "you should see me in a crown", "when the party's over", "ilomilo", "i love you"
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