Oh, Billie. Five Grammy wins for her first ever album? A bit much, aye? Because, same. There’s always been an eerie element in her sound that’s off-putting at first, then like most creepy things, grows on you involuntarily. Her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, which she co-produced and co-written with her brother, Finneas O’Connell, was released last week, and has already been highly publicised… whether it’s been too publicised or not, who cares because we’re writing about it anyway.
The title track, “Happier Than Ever” is a great song that blends 2015-era Billie with the Billie we still yearn to discover… but that might be it. The first few times I listened to the album, it was obviously sonically incoherent, and not the kind that’s done intentionally. The sad part is, that the best songs were the singles that were released: “my future” and “Lost Cause.” Though, if I’m being honest, if the album is played chronologically and on loop, the sequence of “NDA” to “Getting Older” is where the album should climax. If it started at “Your Power,” ended at “Not My Responsibility,” and disregarded tracks 10 and 11, there would’ve been more of an arc and connectivity. But still, kudos to Billie and Finneas! For, firstly, such a powermove to release an album during the latter part of an American summer, and secondly, for even bothering to release music especially with the constant media pressure of her possible creative plateau.
“Lotsa BDE.”
