Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever (2LP) [INTERSCOPE]

Why you'll love it

Happier Than Ever went to No. 1 in Canada, the US and the UK and earned seven Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year. The title track, with its slow-burn-to-explosion finale, is one of the great live moments in modern pop.

This edition

• 2LP set, 16 tracks
• Darkroom/Interscope pressing
• Written with and produced by Finneas

About the album

After her debut made her the biggest new star in the world at 17, Billie Eilish spent the pandemic at home with her brother Finneas, thinking hard about what all that fame had cost. Happier Than Ever is the result: a quieter, jazzier, more grown-up record than When We All Fall Asleep, full of torch songs and late-night confessions about stalkers, power, privacy and the strange loneliness of being looked at all the time.

Finneas produced it and played just about every instrument, and the arrangements are sparse and moody: "Billie Bossa Nova" sways, "Your Power" is just voice and acoustic guitar, and "Therefore I Am" struts. Then the title track starts as a gentle ukulele lament and erupts into a full-on rock catharsis that has to be heard loud. It's the sound of a young artist taking her own life back.

Also at Kops: more Billie Eilish on vinyl · browse Pop

Tracklist

Listen

On Darkroom/Interscope, first out in 2021.