Billie’s fans were already calling saying that she was falling off just due to the rollout of Happier Than Ever. None of the lead singles ever caught the audience that every single did from her debut album. Fans were annoyed that she’s now not as active on social media and as instead more secluded from them. As with the previous rollout, the label was just burning money by having her on what felt like every concert film, advertisement, late night show, and more while promoting the new album, to the point of annoyance. She also had a couple small controversial moments within her fans about past tweets and comments. But personally, none of that ever really mattered to me.
Billie Eilish is first and foremost an artist, so the music will always be what I pay attention to the most. As long as they don't seem like terrible people or have done terrible things, their personal lives don’t impact how I view their music. And unlike a lot of her fans, I didn’t have any problems with the singles. I was glad to see “my future” and “Therefore I Am” from last year making their way onto an official album, as they were both fantastic tracks that haven’t gotten old. While the other singles like “Your Power” and “Lost Cause” didn’t blow me away, they all seemed like quality tracks that would fit nicely into an album. Neither seem like radio smashes, but each has many great qualities about them that left me looking forward to this album, and she didn’t disappoint.
Happier Than Ever is sonically all over the place. Where When We All Fall Asleep succeeds with how innovative and cohesive the project is, while Happier Than Ever throws sounds at the wall and sees what sticks. Not many artists would have the confidence to go from a demented club banger to an interpolation of a 1907 hymn, but Billie and Finneas somehow make it work. There are some classic Billie-esque moments on here with the subtle electronic ballads, but there’s also a huge alt-rock climax and a bossa nova track on here. But the one thing that does tie most of this album together is the themes.
The majority of these tracks are either about Billie’s previous relationship that was exploitative and abusive, or it’s about her struggling with being this famous. Of course, there’s a couple exceptions, but the themes make their way through the ballads and bangers. The single “Therefore I Am” shows Billie making fun of how people try to shame her about her weight and appearance as a whole, which is also a theme that shows up on the Lemonade-esque interlude “Not My Responsibility”. The relationship talk shows up on the aforementioned “Your Power”, which has some of the most straightforward lyrics on the album. The title track is easily one of the best tracks Billie and Finneas have ever made, but the lyrical content is really relationship based and almost sounds like what Olivia Rodrigo was doing on Sour, but taken to a further extreme.
Even though there are a lot of tracks that I love, there are a few that haven’t fully connected yet. Both the opener and closer are extremely minimalistic and leave little impression on me. Especially when talking about how the album ends, the title track would’ve been a perfect ending, reminiscent of Phoebe Bridgers’ “I Know The End”. I know Billie wanted to end it on a happier note, but that was a missed opportunity in my opinion. Even while trying to pay attention to her lyrics, her voice is so soft and low in the mix that it’s hard to hear what she’s actually saying. The middle part of the album also has a couple that I don’t think are bad at all, but are just unneeded. That interlude I mentioned above is emotional and fits the theme, but it’s also four minutes long of her talking slowly. The next ballad “OverHeated” is too straightforward, sonically and lyrically, especially when she explores the same themes better on other tracks on the album.
But even for those couple shortcomings this album has, Billie has done it again with another well-written, sonically unique pop album that might dominate the charts once again. And even with those small amount of negatives I have with it, those could even turn into positives as the album lives with me for longer. I doubt that Happier Than Ever will be as influential or acclaimed as her debut album, but this is no sophomore slump. She’s opened up her sonic palette to now go anywhere with her future work, and I can't wait to see which one she chooses.
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