ALBUM REVIEW: Billie Eilish // dont smile at me

By Tatum Smith

Recommended Tracks: ‘bellyache’, ‘ocean eyes’, ‘hostage’

Similar Artists: Lorde, Sylvan Esso, Michl

Recently, there has been stunning amount of artists emerging at a young age, some include Lorde, Khalid, and Zara Larsson. I say we can add Billie Eilish to the list of top artists under the age 20. Billie’s debut album is named, “dont smile at me”. From the beginning, Eilish shows off her haunting, soulful tones. She is a remarkably diverse artist. The opening song, “COPYCAT”, on her debut album, exemplifies her spooky style, on the other hand her song, “ocean eyes” shows off her beautiful, soulful voice. “COPYCAT” is the only all-capitalized song on the album. The other 7 songs, and the album title are lower case. I see this as her reaching out with a bold sound, then transitioning into her soft, but haunting side.

When looking at her background, she comes from an artistic, and musically inclined family. Her brother, Finneas O’Connell, is a member of the band, the Slightlys, an Alternative Pop-Rock Band from Los-Angeles. He influenced and helped write, “ocean eyes”, on the album, “dont smile at me”. Another influence of her sound is the Los Angeles Children’s Choir she joined when she was only 8 years old.

While not having another album to compare “dont smile at me” to, her second song, “idontwannabeyouanymore”, carries over similar emotional sounds as her first single, “Six Feet Under”, which was released in 2016, when she was a stunning 14 years old. She is climbing to the top at the age of 15, with her track, “ocean eyes”, being #5 on the iTunes Alternative Top Carts.

The alternative trap album written by the 15 year old, is defiantly one to listen to. Billie is on the rise, and no one is stopping her right now.

Purchase the album on iTunes, or listen on Spotify.

Official Site: http://www.billieeilish.com