After almost three years with no new releases, singer-songwriter Billie Eilish dropped her third studio album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” May 17. The 10-track record not only left fans enchanted, but also gave Eilish her first-ever top 10 placement on Billboard’s Top Streaming Albums list. To put it simply, this album is nothing short of a masterpiece.
“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” is an absolutely breathtaking follow-up to Eilish’s 2021 sophomore album “Happier Than Ever.” She maintains the authenticity and profound lyricism that fans have come to know and love while adding a new sense of artistic maturity and vulnerability. Throughout the record, listeners get an intimate view of Eilish’s life as she sings about every stage of romance, sexuality, self-esteem, fame and more. The songs make it feel as though she is inviting the world to glimpse who she truly is, pulling from her own life experiences instead of creating a fictional character to portray her sentiments.
The album opens with “SKINNY,” immediately setting the tone for the project. As the opening notes play, the listener is pulled in by a gentle melody as Eilish’s trademark hushed vocals cover lyrics about her body image, perception online and experiences falling in and out of love. Through her poetic lyricism, we learn of the anxieties and struggles the singer has faced during her rise to fame, including relentless body shaming online, singing, “People say I look happy / Just because I got skinny / But the old me is still me and maybe the real me / And I think she’s pretty.”
Eilish didn’t release any of the tracks as singles so her fans could take the album all in at once, but “LUNCH” is the song that she dropped the most snippets of before the album’s official release. Perhaps her most bold song to date, Eilish sings about her sexuality — which had long been debated online — and attraction to women using an upbeat pop melody and graphic imagery, enthusiastically singing that the girl she is infatuated with “Tastes like she might be the one.” This song shocked fans as Eilish has been private about her sexuality for years, and has even been accused of “queerbaiting” in the past.
The project heavily focuses on romance during all stages: From the sweet beginnings to the crushing ends, Eilish beautifully encapsulates both love and heartbreak in the album’s 43-minute run. In songs like “WILDFLOWER,” “THE GREATEST,” “BITTERSUITE” and “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE,” Eilish covers topics such as shadows of past relationships, romantic sacrifice, yearning, regret and, maybe the most relatable of them all, bidding good riddance to an ex. While all of these songs feel so personal to the artist, they each have an aspect of relatability to them, connecting Eilish to her listeners seamlessly. Additionally, Eilish covers love and devotion that can last forever in “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” which not only has become popular on TikTok since its debut, but was also featured in a teaser for season three of the Netflix show “Heartstopper” before the album’s official release to give fans a sneak peek of the song.
The album finishes off with “BLUE,” a track that incorporates a lyric from each song of the album in a similar way to “goodbye,” the final song in Eilish’s debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” This truly shows how much the singer stays true to her fans, knowing that the supporters who have been there since her debut would recognize the format. This song was the perfect ending to a perfect album.
Among the honesty and vulnerability Eilish shares in each song, the stellar production cannot be overlooked. Like all of her other projects, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” was co-produced by Eilish’s brother and longtime songwriting partner FINNEAS. So far, the siblings have achieved a combined 19 Grammys and two Academy Awards for their partnership in music — and for very good reason. The passion that Eilish and FINNEAS share for each project they create truly translates into their artwork. With each collaboration comes clear artistic growth in production, vocals and lyrics. The duo constantly raises the bar for themselves and surpasses audience expectations every time.
“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” is an absolutely unmissable album and will undoubtedly cement both Eilish and FINNEAS as two of the greatest artists of this generation. There may still be six months of 2024 to go, but this album is definitely a top contender for Album of the Year. The tour for this album, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR” will be coming to Boston Oct. 11.
