Album review by Charlotte Poynton
On the dawn of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour kicking off in Naarm, absolute angel and fellow Swiftie Eilish Gilligan released her debut album Final Girl, a collection inspired by her fondness for the horror genre. Upon the official announcement of the album on January 25th, Eilish shared that she had “turned into a completely different person over the process” of creating this project but stands proudly to the fact that this is “the best music I’ve ever made”. As a long-time listener of her music, I can stand to support this fact, and recommend that you read on for a track-by-track dive whilst giving Final Girl a well-deserved spin.
Track One: The Catch
They always say to put your best foot forward, and it may seem that Eilish Gilligan had done that on Final Girl, before you realise that every song is a solid 10/10 masterpiece. Nonetheless, The Catch stands proudly as a very strong start to the album, hooking audiences into Final Girl in the mere first seconds of play. With the perfect blend of Eilish’s gorgeously smooth vocals and synth-pop perfection, you truly are caught into her debut album with this song.
Favourite lyrics: “Count down every hour, are you doing the same or am I going insane?”
Track Two: Involved You
Introducing us to Eilish’s debut album with a strong cathartic release of emotional regret is track two, and first single, titled Involved You. This track displays itself with a darker façade than what I was expecting, based on the poppier nature of most Eilish Gilligan tracks, but her iconic story building and lyricism still shines boldly through. A short yet punchy track, Involved You hooks you into the narrative of tripping into the antagonistic role in relationships. Hats off to Eilish Gilligan and producer Gab Strum (Japanese Wallpaper) for creating such an earworm of a song that, despite a run time of less than two and a half minutes, will play on an endless cycle in your head and you won’t even be mad about it.
Favourite lyrics: “I get up, hurt you hard, I nurse the wound accordingly.”
Track Three: I’m Not The One
Striking instantly as a refreshing breath of fresh pop air is track three of Final Girl, titled I’m Not The One. This song is a far brighter pop track when compared to the bolder nature of the previous two tracks of the album, which comes across with healthy reminiscence to the earlier phases of the EG discography. With a catchy hook and lyrics so relatable in this society of prioritising yourself and ditching red flags, this song has such potential to chart insanely on mainstream radio. Personally, I would categorise Eilish Gilligan as one of the most knowledgeable people ever regarding pop music, which reflects so strongly in I’m Not The One. This song is a win for the pop girlies like myself, and for that we thank you Eilish.
Favourite lyrics: “Is that your guilty conscious reaching out for validation?”
Track Four: Swimming
At the half-way point of the album, it becomes time for a light break from all the heavy emotion, and the call to sit back and reminisce on something as light as a quick swim. Eilish brings us this refresher in track four with Swimming. Floating vocals guide you through surface fears of the unknown in the deep, and briefly take you on a low stakes daytrip to a coastal town.
Favourite lyrics: “It’s crazy to me how we voluntarily walk into the ocean to swim.”
Track Five: Angel Face
Angel Face greets us with a hauntingly echoing piano, which lays as the foundation for an honest and raw diary entry. A distinctively different single from Involved You – Angel Face strips back the angry façade and shifts the focus from self-depreciating loathing to highlighting the red flags in a partner that may have previously been hidden by convenient lighting. A tale that many know all too well, this song stands as a love letter to anyone who has been wronged and feels like a warm hug to those who have designated the role of the big bad evil. Tapping into the same narrative as G Flip’s The Worst Person Alive and Platonic Sex’s Bitch In The Heat, Angel Face is most definitely a contender for my 2024 song of the year and will likely be in your top list too.
Favourite lyrics: “Or do you say what always makes you feel better – I was a deluded sore loser, you’re no miracle worker.”
Track Six: Swollen
Eilish takes your hand as a burst of strobe light shines the path through a very sporadic journey into 2010’s dance pop with track six of Final Girl, titled Swollen. Mimicking chord progressions of Len’s Steal My Sunshine in what would traditionally be seen as the pre-chorus, this song is both structure defying and mind blowing. Upon initially seeing the track list, I was expecting Swollen to be a title belonging to a slower piece of emotional complexity, but I am pleasantly surprised by this song that hits the system like a packet of fluorescent pop-rocks.
Favourite lyrics: “What beat is this? Is it healing?”
Track Seven: Space
Sliding in at track seven of Final Girl is the hidden bop of Space. The first verse cements this track lyrically as the poppier older cousin to Taylor Swift’s “Tolerate It”, though contrasting the lyrical story with an upbeat track as if trying to mask the issue at hand. The desperation of the story seeps through with the persistent repetition of the chorus hook “How do I cross that space?” as the pulsing beat intensifies. Though the track might have seen a progressive build, you are faced with an abrupt finish as if inferring that she had either crossed the space or found the journey to be too taxing to finish.
Favourite lyrics: “You’re smarter than me, you’re braver than me, I should’ve seen it coming.”
Track Eight: All The Time
Closing off Final Girl with the strongest and most emotionally complex song, Eilish Gilligan has gifted us with the delicately heartbreaking All The Time. Similarly to Angel Face, we are greeted with haunting rolling piano chords married to further hauntingly beautiful vocals, leaving pure shivers down my spine on every listen. Strong influences are evident musically from Frente!’s 1.9.0. and lyrically from Taylor Swift’s Call It What You Want but with further emotional strain, creating a uniquely earth-shattering song. Without a doubt, All The Time showcases Eilish Gilligan’s strongest vocal performance of the album and is not a song that can merely be done justice through words. If all you have to spare in your day is four minutes, I implore that you press play on this track, shut your eyes, and let yourself experience this absolute piece of art.
Favourite lyrics: “I wear your clothes now because they live so close to you.”
