Billie Eilish has returned with her third studio album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Her previous offering, Happier Than Ever, focused on her rise to fame and the downsides of it through jazz-inspired electropop. But in this body of work, Eilish aims to recapture what she told Rolling Stone is “her old self”. This is the self we were presented with on her debut Grammy-winning album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. This was a much darker instalment to her discography exploring teenage nightmares through themes of drug addiction, heartbreak, and even suicide. The current record captures aspects of both but feels more true to how Billie sees herself as an artist.
‘SKINNY’ vulnerably opens the album and revisits the themes of Happier Than Ever with the same honest lyricism of her recent Barbie soundtrack single, ‘What Was I Made For?’. The downsides of being in the spotlight are encapsulated in the lyrics: “And the internet is hungry for the meanest kinda funny/And somebody’s gotta feed it”. These lines hint at the scrutiny she receives from people online, particularly comments made on her body: “People say I look happy/Just because I got skinny”. Despite this, Eilish makes it clear that she wishes to return to her 2019-era self (“But the old me is still me and maybe the real me”). It’s an incredibly sincere opening track. This sentiment has been felt in many of Eilish’s recent releases so it feels like a place we know well. ‘SKINNY’ adds to this universe while also feeling like a nice way to wrap it up and allow her to return to “her old self”.
The drums of ‘LUNCH’ hit and we are transported to the hard aspect of the album. Lyrically, the track is full of euphemisms as Eilish tells us about a girl she “could eat…for lunch” who is “a craving, not a crush”. The up-beat production is much more reminiscent of her Album Of The Year-winning debut with the catchiness of her hits ‘bad guy’ and ‘bury a friend’.
This anthology was co-produced with her long-term collaborator and brother, FINNEAS. It’s evident through this body of work why they team up so much; they are able to make fully realised and catchy songs. The pulsing beat of ‘LUNCH’ is infectious. The pair’s versatility is evident through all of the tracks. We see Eilish’s dreamy vocals shine throughout the album accompanied by laid back strings but also see dance pop in the outro of ‘L’AMOUR DE MA VIE’ that could have been taken straight from a Charli XCX album. Listening with headphones is a must for this production. The pair are able to introduce so many layers it’s impossible to hear them all straight away with muffled backing vocals and sounds buried deep into the melodies.
Love is a prominent theme of the album. This is explored in a positive way on ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ as Eilish proclaims her love for the subject as she pleads: “I want you to stay/’Til I’m in the grave/’Til I rot away, dead and buried”. But negative facets of love are also touched upon. ‘L’AMOUR DE MA VIE’ sees Eilish explore a complicated relationship that she questions the genuineness of as they “moved on immediately”. However, she also questions her own feelings to the person as she confesses that telling them they were the love of her life was “a lie”. Moreover, on ‘THE GREATEST’, Eilish delves into an unrequited love that she put “all [her] love and patience” into but it was “unappreciated”. The production of this song is a standout as her angelic vocals build in intensity with the guitar backing leading to a cathartic release of emotions, reminiscent of the production on her track ‘Happier Than Ever’.
‘THE DINER’ is a standout as Eilish tells a story from the perspective of a stalker. This is able to highlight the frightening sides of fame as Eilish has famously had stalkers of her own, even needing to take out restraining orders. The song’s intensity enables us to sympathise with the frightening side of stardom, a lifestyle so often glamorised and envied by the majority who won’t experience it.
This collection of ten songs were all released at once with no promotional singles. Usually, artists will release a few songs in the weeks leading up to the big release day to drive hype and excitement. However, Billie and FINNEAS wanted to create what they described as “an album-ass album”. A body of work that cohesively sits together and can be listened to from back to front. This is something to applaud as the musical landscape currently aims to push out snappy songs for instant gratification. ‘BLUE’ closes the album and, through its lyrics, hints towards previous songs on the album. This allows the tracks to come together and creates the cohesion the siblings were aiming for. Cohesion in this way is common in Eilish’s discography. ‘Goodbye’ closed WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? by taking a lyric from each song.
Ultimately, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT proves Billie Eilish is a musical powerhouse. Arguably, she is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, artists currently in the industry. The cohesive anthology demonstrates that Eilish is not here to make a quick hit but to successfully produce a record she can be proud of.
Words by Connor Franks
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