Billie Eilish’s brother has released his second solo album, For Cryin’ Out Loud.
Finneas O’Connell is known for producing and co-writing his sister’s brooding and anxious pop behemoths. Together, they’ve changed the pop music landscape, and occasionally, Finneas steps out from behind the Logic computer screen and in front of the microphone.
“Lotus Eater” showcases his gifted craftsmanship. It also uses ancient Greek literature to solve the riddle of falling in love.
Who’s the Mystery Now?
Finneas cracks the mystery of his romantic partner on “Lotus Eater.” It’s a play on joyful ignorance as the romance falters once the couple reveals their true selves.
Say it like you mean it
Couldn’t keep a secret
And maybe you could leave it out
Backseat and my teeth hurt
Blowing out the speaker
I’m the lotus eater now
It feels like the moment in a relationship where two lovers cross the threshold of newness and familiarity. Once the novelty wears off, then comes the messy bit: testing the affair’s endurance.
Grab my wrist till your knuckles are white
It’s a brand-new kiss in the same old light
In a Friday bliss on a Sunday night
I wanna feel like this till I feel all right
Homer
The song title borrows from characters in Homer’s Odyssey. In the poem, a group of small islanders consume lotus, which leaves them blissful and dispassionate. Odysseus and his crew are blown off course to an island of lotus-eaters. A few sailors eat the plants and forget about their duties. They are dragged back to the ship and tied down so Odysseus can escape the island.
On “Lotus Eater,” Finneas bounces between emotions. Early on, his teeth hurt, feeling the distortion and pressure from a blown speaker in the backseat of a car—a metaphor for the complexities of falling in love, or trying to fall in love, or wondering is this mess worth it?
The track has a glowing 1980s vibe, which adds to the dreamy drama. There are moments in the song when the pulsing groove skips a beat. Like the characters are glitching in and out of reality. Or consciousness. An awakening that this can’t go on much longer. But sometimes it feels too good, and you become like the lotus-eaters.
His Sister’s Shadow
Does Finneas feel like he’s living in his sister’s shadow? The 27-year-old producer told Vogue, “Maybe if for some reason I had been prevented from making solo music. But I’m not.”
He’s excited to introduce listeners to his solo work. “In some ways, that’s kind of thrilling,” Finneas said. He and Eilish produce a darker, more experimental version of pop music. But on his albums, the songs are lighter and appear engineered with traditional-leaning pop instincts.
His voice blends into the production. But his sister sings from the uncomfortable depths of anxiety and despair—spinning between gorgeous heartache and macabre feelings. However, Finneas approaches his audience from the perspective of an extraordinarily skillful musician. Solo albums are, by definition, a subtraction. But Eilish’s towering presence is missed.
Mystery Solved
The music video echoes Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather.” In it, an invisible force heaves the siblings around. In the “Lotus Eater” clip, Finneas serenades his friends at a house party, losing gravity until his friends stop him from jumping into a fountain.
Still, “Lotus Eater” has a happy ending. The girl who’s confused him dances and leads him to a couch, where he returns to the party with friends.
Maybe they’ve spent the night munching on lotus, but everyone seems content. And that’s the point.
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Photo by Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images
