8.5/10
Billie Eilish is arguably the biggest and most artistically interesting pop star of the past five years. Billie’s hushed but potent vocal prowess was on full display on her debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2019. In my opinion, the astronomical success of the single “Bad Guy” was very well deserved. The straight-forward, eerie production from her brother Finneas along with Billie’s subdued vocal delivery was an unlikely recipe for a billboard topping song, and fans have been hungry for more ever since.
Her new track “Therefore I Am” has a lot in common with some of the darker moments on WWAFAWDWG, and Billie comes through full force with a plethora of spunk and double-edged charisma. The dark and driving bass on “Therefore I Am” is quite comparable to parts of her previous track “xanny” and Billie’s no-nonsense and badass vocal delivery reminds me a lot of her tracks “all the good girls go to hell” and “you should see me in a crown”. In a lot of ways, this song is a well-rounded helping of the same musical palettes we have already heard Billie explore, but the production is much more robust on this track. The strings that swell after these heavy, blaring bass notes are sort of unsettling, creating a passive-aggressive attitude that reflects the lyrics quite well. Towards the back end, there are some fun synth arpeggios as well that close out the track quite nicely.
Lyrically, this song sees Billie at the top of her game, covering the bases of fame, fake friends, and betrayal. Instead of reflecting on any of these things upsetting her in a wallowing fashion, she instead takes the high road and talks about how she is cutting such toxicity out of her life. Her small giggles throughout the verses add such a large layer of personality, almost mocking the fact that someone thought they could step up to her greatness, stating “I’m not your friend or anything/Damn, you think that you’re the man/I think, therefore I am”.
“Therefore I Am”, while similar to her past work in many ways, is a super intriguing next step from Billie. It shows her and Finneas experimenting with some familiar but new sounds, characterized by a bit more of a noisy approach that creates a thick atmosphere only rivaled only by “xanny” off her debut. Even though this might not be the most innovative track out there or even the most cutting-edge to Billie’s name, this is an exciting and logical next step for pop’s youngest star. In a lot of ways, this feels like a turning point for one of the youngest and most promising musical careers of today.