Therefore I am Happier Than Ever

“You couldn’t save me, but you can’t let me go, oh no”

Happier Than Ever

Billie Eilish

Available on all leading music platforms

30 July 2021

16 Songs

Happier Than Ever is the sophomore album of Billie Eilish, released on the 30th of July 2021. Along with her brother FINNEAS, Eilish wrote about her self-reflection during the pandemic. She wrote about the heartbreaks, harsh criticisms she has experienced, and her reality, especially in the harsh music industry. The album is primarily a downtempo, alternative pop produced with electropop arrangements.

Ria: I am a huuuuge Billie Eilish fan. I love love love her songs. I’m pretty sure I’ve memorized almost all of her songs so I’ve been hyped for this new album!! Billie Eilish has a unique style of music genre which I would classify as sort of emo-pop because I always feel the emotions in her songs. Her voice is also gold ✨ It has such breathy vocals, both in her chest and head voices. And then, the production of her songs is also so stellar (thank you FINNEAS!) These two siblings are so talented (I honestly can’t).

My reaction to Happier Than Ever can be summed up into one phrase: “I didn’t like it at first, but I love it now.” When I first heard the whole album, I was so lost. I swear!! I was so baffled like “what the f is happening?? is she singing?? what’s she even talking about???” But, in the second hearing, I definitely found what Eilish was aiming for.

Jhanya: Similar to Ria, I was confused upon listening to the album for the first time. But only with the lyrics. I was extremely impressed with the overall production from the get-go. I had to actually sit down and read the lyrics while listening to the album in order to write this review because one has to understand the context of it all if they want to fully appreciate the album.

Ria: Happier Than Ever is such a different album compared to her previous works. Songs are still very emotional but the lyrics are darker, much more mature (and creepy?) but still very relevant (see Not My Responsibility). I can also hear the personal touch in the lyrics and it hits so hard because I feel her pain, frustration, irritation, and disappointment when she sings. Aside from the lyrics, the production placed on the album is so electronically heavy in such a great way. There are such loud beats and drops from a sort of an intro part to the main chorus and then ending. Many songs I would say could even be split into two songs based on their instrumentation and melody (see Happier Than Ever and my future); with a slow, soft, romanticized melody to heavy bass and drumming beat.

Jhanya: I’m gonna be honest and say that I prefer this album a lot more than her first one. Happier Than Ever just feels a lot more personal for Billie, and she makes us feel it in every single one of the tracks. Along with the lyrics, the production really makes this album stand out above the rest. The messages of the songs are very heavy and emotional, but the production is very upbeat compared to the lyrics. I especially applaud NDA and Happier Than Ever for pulling off that insane instrumentation and production, despite having very emo and low vocals. As Ria said, there are songs that have very distinctive and different vibes within them. And these songs are just absolute *chef’s kiss*. How they were so different, yet also cohesive just blew my mind upon first listening.

Ria: Another thing that I think was very highlighted in this album was the transitions between songs. Most of the songs are tied together instrumentally and I feel like this was such a crucial part of the album. Eilish is really telling her story of how she’s grown up thus, the album’s starting track Getting Older is a great opening. However, this poses an issue for me because I prefer to shuffle my songs together when I listen rather than listen in order.

Song Rankings

Ria: Let’s move on to my favorite songs in the album and the songs that really stood out to me. In terms of my scoring, Your Power garnered the highest score out of all the songs. This is actually kinda funny since Your Power is NOT my favorite song in the album and is NOT the song that super stood out. The song, however, does have a great melody, instrumentation, lyrics, and meaning.

Now, the song that really stood out to me is NDA. The drop for the chorus really pumps me up and is out of this world!!! This song really stuck out to me and is currently on a loop in my head. I love the bridge part in this song also. The melody and instrumentation production is done so well. And for my favorite song, it is Therefore I Am. This single is something I listened to on repeat for several succeeding days when it first came out. I love love love it. It’s such a bop and it also plays in a loop in my head HAHAHAAHAHAH

Jhanya: Unsurprisingly and unlike Ria, the songs that garnered the highest scores for me were actually my favorite ones LOL. NDA is my #1 and favorite song. Do I still need to explain why? After immensely praising it above hahaha Happier Than Ever comes in second after that insane emotional rollercoaster ride of a song. Don’t get me wrong, both are competing for my #1 song in this album, but I give the top spot to NDA purely for its amazing production, which I believe is a step above HTE (we love FINNEAS, music production royalty). Also, coming in very close third and fourth are my future and Therefore I Am. These are mainly given their corresponding spots because of their lyrics. Because OH MY GOSH, MY HEART.

Ria: In conclusion, this album is in a whole new world. It is a refreshing change from the usual melodic pop I’ve been listening to. Although it took me a while to completely warm up to this album, I can’t deny that this album is really good. It’s a bopper and seeing a new side to Eilish’s musical talent really sets it off. I can’t wait to watch Eilish perform her songs live!!

Jhanya: This album is an absolute gift! It’s so different from others, yet also so familiar at the same time. And again, this album is worth listening to for its production alone. How 2 siblings made this gem (majority) by themselves will forever impress me. It provides tons of bops, but also relevant messages that should be heard by a lot of people these days (ex. Not My Responsibility). With these praises, Happier Than Ever is definitely one of my favorite albums this year, along with Sour (Olivia Rodrigo) and OK ORCHESTRA (AJR).