Topping the charts once again is 17-year-old “dark pop” singer, Billie Eilish, with her new album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” Released on Fri., March 29, the album features a variety of goth, electropop and heavy-bass tracks inspired by Eilish’s frequent night terrors.

From her soft and eerie tone in “Ocean Eyes” to her intriguing lyricism in “Bellyache,” Eilish has already proved to take the music industry by storm when she was only 14 years old. Although her music has always bent the rules or ventured out of the norms of pop music, “When We All Fall Asleep” showed a new side of Eilish’s storytelling that is more carefully crafted, aesthetically captivating and increasingly provocative and candid.

Reminding listeners of her youth, Eilish introduced the album with a 13-second clip titled “!!!!!!” where you can hear her taking out her Invisalign and then actually stating, “I have taken out my Invisalign and this is the album!” before laughing hysterically. Although many other artists also choose to present a short ‘intro track’ to their albums, the ASMR of Eilish taking out her Invisalign was an undesirable sound for listeners to hear. Still, it’s important to keep her age in mind while listening to the album and so it seemed almost necessary for her to demonstrate that even musical prodigies need help straightening out their teeth.

Eilish maintained this candor as a young teenage girl with the rest of the 13 tracks through differently executed, but thoughtful storytelling in each song. For example, the song “xanny” illustrates the sincere, but fiercely aggressive emotions driven by anxiety. The track highlights a sort of intimacy with Eilish’s soft voice then backed by an equally melancholy piano tune to snippets of background conversations to snare drums to a pounding bass and ending with a heavy sigh and light humming — creatively illustrating what she described having anxiety feels like. Other tracks which tell tales of Eilish’s personal life include “wish you were gay,” “when the party’s over,” and “i love you,” making them that much more meaningful.

However, not every song transmits emotions with the same dramatic impact; some are just simply fun to listen to. For example, “you should see me in a crown” demonstrates a sort of arrogance or just self-awareness which is not only highlighted in the title of the song, but also in lyrics such as, “fell for these ocean eyes” — paying homage to her song which started it all when she was just a 14-year-old on Sound Cloud. Another personal favorite, “all good girls go to hell” also features intriguing beats and tunes with lyrics such as “even God herself has enemies” and ending with Eilish’s quirky giggles. Even “my strange addiction” offers a bit of playfulness as it features clips of dialogue from the hit-comedy show “The Office.”

While Eilish’s intricate lyricism is what makes the album unique, its production demands to be taken seriously. Eilish’s brother, Finneas O’Connell, crafts the musicality of each song to best express all the wild creativity in captivating mannerisms. This is of course illustrated through the various instrumentals and beats of each song, but more importantly, in the cohesion of it all. For example, the production of “bad guy” is so intriguing because the bass and tempo of the song pauses, intensifies, or alters with specific lyrics — adding its genius storytelling.

“When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” is a fantastic second album for Eilish as it shows growth from her first album “dont smile at me,” while still possessing all the qualities that make her so unique as a singer and songwriter. This album seems more authentic in its artistry as it is unapologetically different from anything that’s on the radio. Its alternative style may not be for everyone, but there is no denying that the album offers a much needed fresh perspective in the music industry.

Rate: 8/10