![]() Larocca: "Love when it comes without a warning / 'Cause waiting for it gets so boring / A lot can change in 20 seconds," is a coincidentally spot-on introduction to the album's first bright spot, considering it's preceded by two of the dimmest.Įilish is spellbinding on the mature "Billie Bossa Nova." She invites you into her hotel-room hideout, demanding all of your attention ("You better lock your phone / And look at me when you're alone.")Ī whispered chant of "I'm not sentimental" plays out the song one final incantation to leave you charmed. Instead, her lyrics describe a specific strangeness ("Use different names at hotel check-ins / It's hard to stop it once it starts") while evoking the relatable allure of sneaking around, seduction behind closed doors that tingly swoop in your stomach when you lock eyes with a secret lover. The colors are swirling together and everything looks a bit more romantic than it should.Įilish's experience as a celebrity is unusual, so "Billie Bossa Nova" could've sounded lofty and out of touch. I know this is oddly specific, but this song makes me think of a warm summer night in Paris through the eyes of Vincent Van Gogh. ![]() I especially love the way she delivers the pre-chorus, like she's tiptoeing across a starry sky ("I'm not sentimental / But there's something 'bout the way you look tonight"). "Billie Bossa Nova" is the third track on "Happier Than Ever."Īhlgrim: Eilish's voice is perfect for this samba-inspired landscape, especially now that she's learned to enunciate (better than she has in the past, at least). ![]() The rest of my opinion on this song can be summed up with its very first word, delivered with the same blasé tone as Eilish's own: OK. That said, no matter how many times I hear "I Didn't Change My Number," my face involuntarily winces at the sound of Eilish's dog snarling into my ear. Larocca: I appreciate Eilish and O'Connell's affinity for sourcing household noises to add texture and intrigue I previously noted Eilish's dad sharpening a knife as a highlight on "You Should See Me in a Crown." What does a traumatized superstar care if you think she's "mean?" These feral flourishes complement the song's theme: "I didn't change my number / I only changed who I reply to." Eilish is following her instincts now. O'Connell weaves a scrap of the sample into the song's beat, ingeniously transforming the snarl into a snare.Īs the song winds down, a rumbling synth arrives, sounding like a robot rattlesnake that's trying to intimidate its prey. It's the heir apparent of "Bad Guy's" iconic "Duh."īut that opening detail isn't simply scrapped. The clamor is curbed by Eilish herself, whose brusque "OK" is inexplicably hot. "I Didn't Change My Number" is the second track on "Happier Than Ever."Īhlgrim: "I Didn't Change My Number" opens with animalistic growling - perhaps a cameo from Eilish's beloved pit bull, Shark, whom she adopted during quarantine. If Eilish were a random artist I hit play on for the first time, I wouldn't stick around to see what else "Happier Than Ever" has to offer based on this opening track alone. The nice thing about being a mega-popular musical wunderkind is that most people will give you the benefit of the doubt and soldier on with your album even after a lackluster start. In effect, "Getting Older" is little more than a drawn-out prologue. Larocca: On "Getting Older," Eilish promises to open up emotionally on "Happier Than Ever." She even hints at certain vulnerabilities ("Last week, I realized I crave pity / When I retell a story, I make everything sound worse").īut she doesn't fully commit here. It's an idyllic scene, a classic image of innocence and beauty - until you remember that someone is coming to slice her heart out. I am weirdly reminded of Snow White picking flowers in the forest. The chorus kicks off with a devastating couplet, delivered with a Disney-esque melody: "Things I once enjoyed / Just keep me employed now." Eilish sings of abuse and trauma in her trademark flutter. Its production is lean, light, and far warmer than its lyrics would suggest. "Getting Older" is the first track on "Happier Than Ever."Īhlgrim: This isn't at all what I expected from Eilish's opening track.
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