HIT ME HARD AND SOFT - REVIEW

“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,” Billie Eilish’s highly anticipated 3rd studio album, has officially landed. Spanning a duration of just 10 tracks, Eilish manages to provide exactly what the title suggests in just under 45 minutes, that being an effortless blend of electronic-bass-driven nostalgia and her signature melancholic lyricism, punched with an eclectic twist.

The album opens with “SKINNY,” a track that feels like a page ripped out of Eilish’s diary. The line, “I fell in love for the first time,” opens the album, flickering a shadow of optimism, yet suggesting that the love reminisced on is in the past. Over an acoustic guitar, the trials and tribulations of a bedroom-pop-artist-turned-household-name are brought to the podium, “21 took a lifetime,” she expresses. “SKINNY” draws its title from the line; “people say I look happy, just because I got skinny,” an unfortunate reality faced throughout her entire career, and despite repetitive statements through not only music, but also social media, the scrutiny continues. The brutally raw album opener suggests that the tough shell expected of her is not only an unrealistic expectation of her, but everyone.

Transitioning us into one of the “hard” moments of the album is “LUNCH,” Billie’s first song narrating a female love interest. The track feels fresh for her, but not too far out of her lane to feel disingenuous. The placement of “LUNCH” on the track-list feels strategic, like an attempt to invite the listener further without too much whiplash. Then you’re hit with “CHIHIRO,” the 3rd track, and one of the many standouts of the album. A subtle build carries through the brilliantly structured song as you wait for it to break. “I don’t know you at all,” she hollers around the 2-minute mark, the synths louden simultaneously, retreating just as you crave more. The bass-line is then reintroduced, a lush atmosphere surrounding it, as the track closes with the revisited synths.

“BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” a more universally digestible offering, floods you with emotion. The narration of either a romantic relationship or a friendship (in this case, it’s irrelevant) feels like the warmth and security that she searches for throughout the entire record. Unsure if this feeling will last, Billie sums up the connection from beginning to possible-end, content with unconditional love towards this person forever, despite any potential changes in season. “WILDFLOWER,” and “THE GREATEST,” lean more into the soft side of the project. Both have an overarching theme of accepting grief in a paralyzed state, meaning that despite her awareness of the scenarios she recounts, she’s caught in being the refuge for these people, to her own detriment. By the end of “THE GREATEST,” she’s fully realized, belting the rhetorical “man, am I the greatest?” as the beat abruptly shifts, calling back to 2021’s “Happier Than Ever.” 

“L’AMOUR DE MA VIE” surprises for multiple reasons. The biggest being that the track opens with a sultry guitar strum, the polar opposite of the TikTok-viral clip of the track, which is reminiscent of early 2000s club-pop. “I wish you the best for the rest of your life,” she sings in a juxtaposing, sarcastic tone, as opposed to the previous 2 tracks. Halfway through the song, the pitched down “and you moved on,” repeats, as the hammering kick and evocative synths enter. The second part of the song is so energetic that it feels like a separate track, this half destined for the dancefloor.

In “THE DINER,” Eilish further weaves her introspective narrative with haunting melodies and vivid lyricism. The track, while perhaps more accessible than some of the album’s more experimental cuts, retains the intensity that defines much of Eilish’s work. The following track, “BITTERSUITE,” opens with a striking synthesizer, laced with faded vocals. As many of the other tracks on the record do, the structure on “BITTERSUITE” is unpredictable, conducting a complete instrumental shift at only the 1:30 mark of the 5-minute song. Similar to the minimal instrumentation that defined Eilish’s early career, the remainder of the song feels like a blend of all of Billie’s music thus far.

In “BITTERSUITE,” Eilish sets the stage for the journey that culminates in the album’s closer, “BLUE.” Serving as somewhat of a prelude, “BITTERSUITE” introduces themes and motifs that resonate throughout the record, preparing listeners for a cathartic release. With “BLUE,” Eilish revisits a previously unreleased fan-favorite track, offering a reworked rendition that embodies the essence of the album. Much like “goodbye” from 2019’s “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” “BLUE” acts as a poignant reflection, distilling the album’s themes into a profound and introspective finale. “But when can I hear the next one?” Billie asks at the end of “BLUE,” hinting at a possible continuation of “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.” Whether that be a true double album, or an effort to seamlessly tie in the record that follows, I eagerly anticipate the expansion of Eilish’s creative scope.