Melissa Kacar

When looking back at Billie Eilish 's career thus far, her sophomore release Happier Than Ever  served as a pivotal stepping stone in her evolution. It is almost an impossible feat for any artist to be able to follow up a massive debut like Billie had with WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO? , Happier Than Ever stands out as a moment of artistic progression and experimentation in numerous ways.  The historic Grammys sweep that came for her debut album intensified the pressures and attention placed on her, often in ways that obviously would overwhelm anyone, nonetheless a teenage girl who just a couple of years prior just started making music with her brother, Finneas , in their childhood home. The level of scrutiny and high expectations that were placed upon her, for better or worse, greatly shaped the experience of creating this second album. "There are things we are super proud of on Happier Than Ever , but I know from thinking back and thinking about the year we made th...

Billie Eilish 's "No Time To Die" beautifully echoes the themes of the 2021 film of the same name, which served as the 25th iteration of James Bond franchise. Billie and Finneas took a very intimate approach to creating the song, while still incorporating the elements of grandeur that made the  Bond  themes of the past so memorable. They were approached to write the song early in their career, following the release of Billie's generation-defining debut album  WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?  in early 2019. The release of that album was a major shift in the industry and completely shaped what the future of music was going to be.  At the time the time they wrote "No Time To Die", Billie was just 17 years old, making her the youngest artist in history to record a  Bond  theme song. "We wrote and recorded the Bond song on a tour bus in Texas," Finneas said in an interview with  BBC Breakfast  in 2020. "We did certain songs on the album in...

Listening to  HIT ME HARD AND SOFT   for the first time truly felt like witnessing the birth of a modern classic. No matter how many times I listen to this record, I am still so blown away by it. This album as a whole is so unique, it's impossible to put it into one category or genre, which is recurring throughout all of Billie and Finneas ' work. To put them in one box musically would be doing a disservice to the incredible range of influences and masterfully crafted sound they have worked to create all these years. I shared a similar sentiment in my review of Billie's debut album , but it rings even more true now.  As always, this album written, recorded and produced solely by Billie and her older brother Finneas. They are just unstoppable together; I feel so lucky to be able to experience the genius of their music in real-time. This album pulls inspiration from parts of her previous work in some aspects, especially her first album, but at the same time it is so singula...