For some of us, Billie Eilish is not an unfamiliar name for our ears. You may know her from her song “COPYCAT” or from her latest “you should see me in a crown“. This 16-year-old singer is on the rise, but have you heard of her brother who is also the man behind Billie Eilish?
Finneas O’Connell was born on July 30th, 1997 and he is the big brother, co-writer and producer of Billie Eilish. He also has starred in TV Shows and movies such as Glee, Life Inside Out and Bad Teacher. Before releasing his own music, he produced and co-wrote Billie’s songs “Six Feet Under” and “ocean eyes” in 2016.
I discovered Finneas while questioning if Billie Eilish writes her own songs, and came across Finneas’ name while searching for her lyrics. I searched for Finneas on Spotify, heard his songs and was awestruck by the musical ability that runs in both siblings. I’ve reviewed five songs that epitomise Finneas as a singer/songwriter and show you why you should listen to his music.
I’M IN LOVE WITHOUT YOU
O’Connell released this heart-wrenching, bittersweet song on 2017. The lyrics of this song are well thought through and beautifully executed, with a sense of melancholy created from the first verse and second. In the first verse, the line “But I loved you less and less as my love turned to loneliness and I’d already lost what I was afraid to lose” pairs with the line in the second verse “You loved me less and less as you lean in against his chest and hear the heartbeat that only beats for you”, and creates a sense of falling out of love, and how heart wrenching that can be. Despite the melancholy tones, this song is about someone who has accomplished moving on from a heartbreak to a new and happy relationship, and allows O’Connell to create something that’s bittersweet while remaining tender and beautiful.
“I remember driving once and thinking the line, “I’m in love without you.” I was at the very beginning of a relationship with a person at the time, and I remember thinking about what it would be like to run into an ex, and I remember hoping she was as happy as I was.” – Finneas on an interview with Ones To Watch.
BREAK MY HEART AGAIN
This devastating song was released in 2018 and was the first track he released this year. Now for this specific song, I recommend you to listen carefully because if you do, you will hear the texting sounds to company Finneas’ beautiful vocals and music. Onto to the lyrics, this song’s lyrics can make you cry really quick. This one particular line that is full of irony and makes every heart break; “Oh, it must be nice to love someone who lets you break them twice” and it is actually amazing on how you can actually feel the disappointment in a song lyric.
LIFE MOVES ON
Again on this year, Finneas released another beautiful song with a great hint of sadness. This song starts with soothing guitar and the subtle sounds of crickets. The lyrics are beautiful as always and it will hit you right in the heart. The visible pain on the lyrics: “Life moves on, the way life does, but some things are prettier the way life was before we gave each other love”, will always be the reason of why Finneas is such a genius on putting such emotions to his songs’ lyrics. Other than this song can be the song to cry to, this song is also perfect for your lullaby before sleep.
HOLLYWOOD FOREVER
This other lullaby was released in July 2018. This easy-listening song is unique because the sounds of crickets on the start and the end of this song will soothe your ears and relax you alongside Finneas’ calming voice and tunes. Now, this song isn’t as sad as the previous three that I reviewed. Instead of heartbreak and moving on, this song tells us more about being lovestruck and this song is basically a love letter. Fun fact about this song, Hollywood Forever is actually a cemetery in Los Angeles where they buried Hollywood’s founders and celebrities.
I fell in love a couple years ago on the 4th of July after planning our first date at the Hollywood Forever cemetery seeing ‘Grease.’ It’s hard not to love a place that reminds you of falling in love. – Finneas on an interview with Ones To Watch.
COLLEGE
This song’s Finneas latest song. “College” was released a few days ago, specifically on September 7th. This song has the same vibe and theme as “I’m In Love Without You”, but this song is not as implied as “I’m In Love Without You”. This song is more straight-forward of telling your ex that you’ve definitely moved on from them, yet they still have a hard time. This song will make your head sway and wowed you at the same time by the lyrics that just sound like hurtful truths and bliss of finally managing to move on.
This was just five of his eight released song and listening to Finneas’ songs are not a waste of time. This genius musician, producer and songwriter’s songs are different from each other and there’s always a new uniqueness in each song he released. I really recommend you to start listening to Finneas because he always brings a new sound to his songs and amazing lyrics that have many emotions. Don’t forget to use your earphones so you won’t miss his amazing lyrics and the subtle hidden sounds that made him indeed, one of a kind.
Photo via Finneas on Twitter
