The Review:

Billie Eillish (or whatever dumb meme name you wanna call her) has, in part with her brother Finneas, made some of the best music of the year. I wasn’t looking forward to her album earlier this year because I didn’t really care all that much for her EP, Don’t Smile At Me. A lot of the production bogs the performances down. It’s an okay project, but when her debut album dropped, my entire worldview of her music was flipped. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a minimalist pop record that tells us a lot about Billie. She’s afraid of a lot of things, for one. She’s afraid of being in love and it not being reciprocated. She’s afraid of being lonely, not being able to communicate her feelings clearly, and losing those that she loves. She is enamored with iconoclastic concepts, like being the “bad guy”. She is uninterested with being put into a box, calling herself a king. Truthfully, it blows my mind every fucking day that she was 16-17 when she wrote and recorded the album. The songwriting is so compelling. Some of the topics present on that album can strike a chord with any adult double her age. It’s done in such a way that I also get a sense of who Billie is, which is a fine line to follow in pop music without sounding cookie-cutter and/or generic. For that, I applaud her and I can’t wait for what comes next… I guess I don’t have to.
Wednesday, April 13th, saw the release of her first song since the release of her major label debut, called “everything i wanted”. It’s about her relationship with her brother and how he’s the only person who she confides in, with the chorus being about him. In the verses, she desribes a nightmare she had where she committed suicide and everyone didn’t care. Other themes are about her newfound fame and the public not treating her like a regular person, which tells me this was written not too long ago. The songwriting here is still as great as her album. Her understated breathy singing paints a vivid picture for the listener to make sure they know the depth of the pain she’s feeling. For example, the first few lines of the second verse:

“I tried to scream
But my head was underwater
They called me weak
Like I’m not just somebody’s daughter” (“everything i wanted”)

I especially loved the way the production distorted her voice when she sang the word “underwater”; as well as the way the instrumental almost went silent for the following two lines. It heightened that emotion more than any other point of the song. A nice touch.

Though, on the other hand, the production doesn’t see much progression in its four minute runtime. It stays, for the most part, the same. It doesn’t flourish much or deviate from the main melody, doesn’t interact much with the vocals aside from the one instance I pinpointed above, nothing. Does it need to? No, but so many of the instrumentals on Where Do We Go? are so interesting because they were daring. The knife sharpening sounds and the vocal layering of the hook on “you should see me in a crown”, the modifications to Billie’s voice and the screaming samples on “bury a friend”, the way the ukelele transitions from being played to the sample of a pseudo hip hop beat on “8”, etc. This instrumental is very plain.

It’s a song I’d recommend at least checking out once. If you’re a fan, you’ll like it. If you’re not a fan, maybe Billie’s lyrics can woo you. It’s a little dark, it’s a little wholesome, but it doesn’t completely scratch that itch for me after releasing such a good record. Still, Billie is at the top of her pen, but we’ll see if Finneas can keep up on the boards. I have hope.

The Pairing:

There are a few snacks that are very Miami and should have at least once before denouncing the idea altogether. One of those is the Frita Pastelito from the Pastelito Papi at Chug’s Diner in Coconut Grove, which I’m pairing with the track. If you love fritas, you’ll love it. If you love pastelitos and eat meat, you’ll love it. It’s round and has minimal glazing, like a pastelito de carne, but it’s sprinkled with little potato sticks (or papitas) on top. When the crunchy potato sticks and flakey pastelito crust combine with the seasoned meat, every ingredient comes alive. The meat from the pastelito is made in-house at Chug’s Diner and used in their actual fritas. It’s quite savory and a little salty from the seasoning, but balanced well with the subtle sweetness of the glaze. If you don’t eat meat, the Pastelito Papi has you covered. There’s almost always a meatless option, like Peanut Butter & Jelly or (at the time of publication) Guava & Mamey. I know it sounds weird, but try it once. You might like it.