Billie Eilish - 'when the party's over'

If you’ve still not heard of the American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, then surely you must have been living under a rock for the last few years. Eilish rocketed to fame back in 2016, with her debut single ‘Ocean Eyes’ and has been steadily turning heads ever since.

What has possibly carried her so far in such a short amount of time, is the fact that Eilish was really young when she started out and being truly wise beyond her years, has created a hot topic of conversation surrounding her. What is most refreshing about Eilish’s career is that in an age where the music industry is rife with stories of sexual abuse and over-sexualisation of young musicians, she seems to have been able to mostly steer away from this kind of attention by consistently being a goofy teen who is enjoying a rollercoaster of fame – though this does not mean that she is unable to be serious when the time calls for it.

‘when the party’s over’ is Eilish’s latest single which was written and produced by Finneas O’Connor, who is her brother and long-time collaborator. Despite being a simple song, that is most similar to the stripped back melancholia of ‘idontwannabeyouanymore’, Eilish voiced her experience of the challenging recording process, via Instagram, saying; “I literally killed myself making this song.” What starts off as angelic vocals harmonising a choral hum, develops into a piano ballad that is about going through a break-up. The lyrics are relatable and showcases the range in Eilish’s voice with her moodier mid-tone weaving in and out of velveteen falsettos, “I’ll only hurt you if you let me. Call me a friend but keep me closer.”

‘when the party’s over’ is the second single to be released from Billie Eilish’s hotly anticipated debut album. Compared with the first single ‘you should see me in a crown’ which is fully of dirty bass and heavy synth programming, it is clear that there has been a lot of personal development from her debut EP ‘dont smile at me’ to whatever may follow, next.

Words by Tyler Damara Kelly