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When it comes to legendary musicians, critics love to talk about their phases. Massive discographies get split up over time, cataloged into sections that are defined by sound, style, and era, each segment parceled out neatly for listeners to engage with. And though it's only her second album, on Happier Than Ever. Billie Eilish has already ushered in a completely new phase - one that manages to sound absolutely pitch-perfect without negating her prior work. Shifting away from the eerie trap beats and ASMR pop that completely defined When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, this rising star cemented herself as the important element, everything else can be swapped out with apparent ease. Billie remains.
Happier Than Ever is ajazzy, sometimes too-slow, incredibly self serious project, one that repurposes her righteous viral monologues and Hindu poems with equal dexterity, Finneas' golden touch mitigating the potential clunkiness of either. It's hard to imagine another teenage pop star releasing a record that cites influences like Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee as major touchstones, let alone turning a slew of songs with the sonic palette of a jazz standards songbook into a commercially successful pop project, but she's done just that. As different as her new blonde hair and doe-eyed promo photos are from her previous green locks and blank stares, the songs on this second album delve into sex, physical intimacy, trauma, lust, and abandonment in a way that's leaps and bounds beyond the lyrics on her debut. It's only been two years, but in Billie's world, everything has changed.
- Caitlin White, Uproxxpo p critic on Billie Eilish'sunexpected s hift on her second album, Happier Than Ever. NUMBER ONE STUNNERS
BTS BTS might've replaced themselves at No. 1 with the brand new single "Permission To Dance" (yes, Ed Sheeran was involved with the song, what of it??), but it's still "Butter" that's melting hearts around the globe. Their silky smooth single from earlier in the year returned to the No. 1 spot this week again, officially surpassing the impact of Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License" with a nine-week run that overcomes her debut song's eight-week streak. "Permission To Dance" stuck around in the top 10 at No. g, but the song of the summer mantle seems destined for their most golden bop.
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BRUNO MARS - 'DOO-WOPS & HOOLIGANS' (BLACK VINYL)
If you're anything Like us, you haven't been able to get enough of the Silk Sonic songs that Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have been dropping sporadically over the last several months. This week, we wanted to go back to the beginning and revisit Bruno's debut studio album Doo-Woops & Hooligans, which would set the stage for the songwriter's massive career. Nearly eleven years after its initial release, the album has sold more than 15.5 million copies, due in part to the success of a handful of mega-singles that topped the charts all over the world. Now, you can own Bruno's massive debut on black vinyl.
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REMEMBER WHEN
TAYLOR SWIFT - AUGUST a g u s t
Even if Folkloret echnically came out in July of 2020, not August, the Swiftian acolytes who have forever devoted themselves to the track that shares its name with this month are claiming August as their own. Even for those who took a while to fall into the world of Swift's pivot to melodic folk-pop, "August" was always an easy entry point, sounding like it could've fit on Red, 1989, or even Lover- probably because it's one of the few tracks Taylor made with Jack Antonotf, and not Aaron Dessner. Regardless, the nostalgia and lovesick memories that make "August" a fan-favorite are the perfect pairing for the humid vacation days that stretch before us this month. Celebrate by remembering how it felt to listen to Folklorelast year, when it was just a week old! Time flies when there's a new album from Taylor every few months, doesn't
I't ?.
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