Album Review: Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish
Surrounded by frustration and desire, Billie Eilish triumphs with an exciting mix of sounds.
Let’s get the elephant in the room out the way: Billie Eilish’s new album Hit Me Hard and Soft is her best work as an artist. She and her brother FINNEAS always knew what they wanted to do, but their last album, Happier Than Ever, had a lot of different ideas and sounds that only sometimes went together smoothly. One minute, it was quiet and thoughtful; the next, it was loud and exciting. On this new album, they still have different sounds, but they fit together better.
Since she first got famous, Eilish has changed her sound a lot. She still does the whisper singing she’s known for, but now she uses more techniques. It’s not easy to sing softly and still sound good, but she’s very skilled at it. She can also sing with more power when she wants to, like in her song “Happier Than Ever,” where she starts quiet and then screams over rock music. On the new album, in the song “The Greatest,” she sings higher notes than usual to show off what her voice can do.
The music on Hit Me Hard and Soft mixes folk, rock, and electronic pop in a very cool way. Billie has used these styles before, but what’s different is how she puts them together. This album doesn’t represent any major change, but what varies is the approach, the way of expressing yourself, and doing something different within what is already characteristic. The O’Connell brothers, who produced the album, are very smart and like to try new things. This makes the album sound fresh. Like in the song “L’Amour de Ma Vie,” it starts with acoustic guitar but then suddenly turns into a disco song with synthesizers. It’s surprising, but it works. Other songs, such as “Bittersuite” and “Blue,” also change sounds in the middle.
The words Billie sings about are also different now. The main theme is sex and being part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The first song, “Skinny,” is sad, with Billie thinking about turning 21 (she is now 22) and how being famous has been hard for her (“Am I acting my age now?/Am I already on the way out?/When I step off the stage, I’m a bird in a cage/I’m a dog in a dog pound”). The tragic violin turns into an exciting song with shiny keyboards and catchy guitars in the next song, “Lunch.” This is where Billie says she would do anything for the girl she loves. In “Chihiro,” the song starts with a cool bass but then gets more electronic while Billie sings about a relationship that didn’t work out.
“I don’t, I don’t know why I called
I don’t know you at all
I don’t know you
Not at all.”
The violin from “Skinny” comes back at the end of “The Greatest” and also closes the album with the last song, “Blue.” Surrounded by frustration and desire, Billie Eilish triumphs with an exciting mix of sounds. The faithful duo of brothers deserves congratulations for delivering such unique and personality-filled material. In fact, this has always been the singer’s artistic streak. This makes the album feel like it has a story that goes in a circle. Billie sings about frustration and desire, and she and FINNEAS make an album that sounds exciting and unique. Billie has always had her own style and on this album, she keeps it going strong. Hit Me Hard and Soft is a pop album that really stands out from others right now. You just have to listen closely and let yourself get into it.
Great (★★★★☆)
Favorite Track(s): “Skinny,” “Lunch,” “Blue”