When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
by Billie Eilish
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
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  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    Mar 29, 2019
    100
    It’s enjoyable and familiar, but retains Billie’s disruptive streak. It’s a brave and resounding first step for an artist with bags of potential and over the next decade, you’ll no doubt see popular music scrabbling to try and replicate what this album does on every level.
  2. Consequence
    Apr 3, 2019
    91
    While she hasn’t quite inherited the pop monarchy from Swift and the other elites, Eilish’s debut makes a strong case that it won’t be long until we see her in a crown.
  3. Clash Music
    Mar 29, 2019
    90
    When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a brave and fortuitous debut album from the LA teen, capturing the hopes, fears and vulnerabilities of an entire generation. The genius in this record is its unaffected relatability.
  5. Variety
    Mar 29, 2019
    90
    With all its moments of distortion and attitude, tempered by sheer loveliness, and rude and emotional songs about night terrors and daydreams, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? feels like a rock ‘n’ roll album, even if there’s virtually nothing on it that sounds like rock music.
  6. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 4, 2019
    89
    The 17-year-old sensation takes pop iconography and musical status quo and lacerates it, opting out of femme fatale for tomboy cargos and goth macabre, and sleek soundscapes for creepy eccentrics.
  7. The Line of Best Fit
    Apr 1, 2019
    85
    She has created an album so unquestionably true to her quirks and personality traits that fans are offered a true insight into her process and psyche. This openness means they will be invested for the long run. Substance over streaming.
  8. musicOMH.com
    Dec 3, 2019
    80
    When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go? is a startlingly good introduction to Billie Eilish, an album full of attitude but with the talent to back it up. Where she goes from here will be fascinating to see.
  9. Q Magazine
    Apr 9, 2019
    80
    This surprising, haunting album will speak powerfully both to her peers and to anyone who remembers how youth can sometimes feel like an overwhelming weight. [Jun 2019, p.110]
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  10. The Observer (UK)
    Apr 1, 2019
    80
    Fascinatingly ambitious, and often extremely fun, this debut finds pop in safe and thrilling hands.
  11. The Telegraph (UK)
    Apr 1, 2019
    80
    It sounds modern and old fashioned at the same time, infused with an adolescant self-absorption that is at once depressive, funny and wise beyond its years.
  12. The New York Times
    Mar 29, 2019
    80
    In some ways the album arrives as a continuation, not an introduction.
  13. DIY Magazine
    Mar 29, 2019
    80
    When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a supremely exciting, innovative first move from a pop voice that feels utterly fresh and modern.
  14. The Guardian
    Mar 29, 2019
    80
    The highs are thrilling, and despite their obvious pedigree, arranged unlike anything else in contemporary pop. They also reveal the lows more starkly: the saccharine, coyly suggestive 8, played on a ukulele, and I Love You, which sounds suspiciously like Hallelujah, are better off left to YouTube ingenues than an artist of Eilish’s otherwise clear vision.
  15. The Quietus
    Mar 29, 2019
    80
    17 year-old Eilish has gone deeper into the weirdo-pop trench. Together with co-collaborator brother and producer Finneas O’Connell, she has drawn on trap and industrial pop to create a darkly humorous record about romance, rejection and addiction.
  16. AllMusic
    Mar 29, 2019
    80
    With When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, she demonstrates that she can do it all, hinting at a bright future that could truly go in any direction, as messy and hopeful as youth can get.
  17. Exclaim
    Mar 29, 2019
    80
    When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is a debut record that showcases a bold artistic vision and a willingness to move beyond the boundaries of pop conventions.
  18. Paste Magazine
    Apr 4, 2019
    73
    When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? has its faults, not quite hitting its full potential, but it gets damn well close, delivering an infectious record for the post-party hangover.
  19. Pitchfork
    Mar 29, 2019
    72
    The best moments of When We All Fall Asleep play firmly into this formula. Inspired by Eilish’s frequent night terrors and lucid dreams, the album juggles dark compulsions with grim eulogies, balancing her feathery vocals with deep, grisly bass.
  20. Sputnikmusic
    Apr 1, 2019
    70
    When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go is a volatile launching pad. This is anything but a safe debut, which could make Eilish a star In her own right--in the realm of dark pop--or alternatively could see her collapse under the weight of her enormous aspirations. It’ll be a wild ride either way, with plenty of dissention along the way.
  21. Rolling Stone
    Mar 29, 2019
    70
    It’s an album full of dressed-down avant-pop with D.I.Y. immediacy and intimacy that can still hold its own amid Top 40 maximalists like Ariana Grande and Halsey. Eilish’s sound is hyper-modern, but still feels classic.
  22. The Independent (UK)
    Mar 29, 2019
    40
    For the most part, When We All Fall Asleep is stiflingly dull and bloated, with subpar production from Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell (known for his time on Glee).

Awards & Rankings

87
#87 Best Album of 2019
11
#11 Most Discussed Album of 2019
2
#2 Most Shared Album of 2019

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1188 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 935 out of 1188
  2. Mixed: 73 out of 1188
  3. Negative: 180 out of 1188
  1. SoundOfAMan
    Mar 29, 2019
    10
    Billie may even be considered a weirdo and quirky artist, but that doesn't make herself or her art a bad thing, but something different fromBillie may even be considered a weirdo and quirky artist, but that doesn't make herself or her art a bad thing, but something different from what we are used to seeing and hearing in the mainstream industry. Her debut album is a perfect formula between insanity, creativity and complexity, showing an alternative facet between electronic music and dreampop. Also, a special thanks to her brother and producer FINNEAS, he is a gatekeeper of Billie's art!… Full Review »
  2. godisawoman
    Mar 29, 2019
    0
    boring and trashy album, the edgy emo aesthetic really doesn’t work. every song sounds the same and it’s just overall not anything unique
  3. fabxricio
    Mar 29, 2019
    10
    On her first album, Billie Eilish was able to make the best album of 2019 (so far). An impressive quality, total cohesion and talking tracks,On her first album, Billie Eilish was able to make the best album of 2019 (so far). An impressive quality, total cohesion and talking tracks, differentiated and functional productions that Solange Knowles did not reach with his last album, besides the total sound maturity with great influences.
    The intro and the outro are spotless. "my strange addiction" and "all the good girls go to hell" are my favorites.    … Full Review »
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