It’s been more than a year since we first declared that teenage singer/songwriter Billie Eilish was someone people should be keeping an eye out for, and her debut album is finally here.
In that time, Billie has gone from strength to strength, retaining fans’ interest with the odd collaboration here and soundtrack contribution there, while developing her personal brand and style from moody and aloof teen to the confident pop star that stands before us, all gold chains, gothic attire and allusions to horror films in her videos.
The result of this is When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, a title lifted from the lyrics to Bury A Friend, her highest-charting single to date.
Has the wait been worth it?
By and large, we’d say it has, with the album delivering on what Billie teased on her first EP Don’t Smile At Me and subsequent singles You Should See Me In A Friend and Where The Party’s Over, and just when you’re starting to get comfortable, she throws out a surprise curveball to check you’re still paying attention.
We weren’t expecting, for example, tunes like Bad Guy and All The Good Girls Go To Hell, that actually made us want to bop a bit.
Nor were we ready for My Strange Addiction, the stand-out on the album, that’s cleverly built (for no apparent reason) around dialogue from an episode of one of Billie’s favourite shows, The Office.
Don’t just take our word for it, though. Here’s what the critics have said about the album so far in their (mostly positive) reviews...
The Telegraph 4/5
“Her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, confirms what most teenagers already know: Eilish is something special, a pop avatar of a Generation Z mood of sensitive disaffection.”
The Guardian 4/5
“Like a horror auteur, Eilish uses intimacy to amplify scares… her well turned melodies often unfold like haunted music box ditties or ghostly show tunes, and suddenly snatch away to expose an annihilating lyric.”
NME 5/5
“[The album] ticks all the boxes for a memorable and game-changing debut album… It’s a brave and resounding first step for an artist with bags of potential and over the next decade, you’ll no doubt see popular music scrabbling to try and replicate what this album does on every level.”
Clash 9/10
“The genius in this record is its unaffected relatability. It is like a reassuring hug letting you know that you are not alone. Billie Eilish’s intelligent response to the world crumbling around her is to make it into art, and to see the beauty in her generation and their protests.”
Pitchfork 7.2/10
“Inspired by Eilish’s frequent night terrors and lucid dreams, the album juggles dark compulsions with grim eulogies, balancing her feathery vocals with deep, grisly bass. Like her spirit animal, the spider, Eilish can weave something that is at once delicate and grotesque…”
With all its moments of distortion and attitude, tempered by sheer loveliness, and rude and emotional songs about night terrors and daydreams, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? feels like a rock ‘n’ roll album, even if there’s virtually nothing on it that sounds like rock music.
The Independent 2/5
“For the most part, When We All Fall Asleep is stiflingly dull and bloated… there’s something about Eilish that suggests she has more to offer than this. But the hype surrounding her only makes this debut all the more disappointing.”
The Times 4/5
“Eilish doesn’t seem like typical child-star material, though; she is too weird for that. Who knows how long it will last, but her scarily assured debut captures one of those rare moments when an artist knows exactly how her audience feels because she feels the same way too.”
“Eilish has always been a lot, and now she’s given us a lot to unpack… I do feel confident about this much: The album will endure. It will be a touchstone for others the way Lana and Lorde and Tyler were touchstones for Eilish.”