Billie Eilish’s third studio album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” released on Friday, May 17.
The album includes 10 songs, less than her previous two albums “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?” and “Happier Than Ever.” Despite the short tracklist, the album is hard-hitting and full of emotion. Eilish announced the tracklist for her third album on her Instagram on April 18.
During the week of the release, Eilish hosted listening parties for the album in New York at the Barclays Center and in Los Angeles at the Kia Forum.
This album is full of deep meaning and showcases Eilish’s outstanding vocal range. Like a typical Eilish album, the songs have a softer serenading melody paired with a few upbeat moments mixed in to change its tempo and show her contrasting artistry.
“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” was written by Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell. O’Connell also produced the album, which is no surprise if you are familiar with Eilish’s work.
The album begins with the song “SKINNY,” an emotional song where she portrays how she views herself compared to how others see her. The track is in a lower tempo, which does a great job of adding emotional value to it.
Eilish hits several high notes throughout the song while keeping her vocals soft. As the song begins its coda, the lyrics fade away and a violin melody begins. This beautiful melody turns upbeat and transitions into the next song on the album, “LUNCH”.
“LUNCH” starts with the same beat as the ending of “SKINNY,” showcasing the connection between the songs in the album. “LUNCH” is a song that you can get up and dance to. It doesn’t follow Eilish’s typical soft sound, but rather a more catchy, faster pop-like tempo.
In this song, Eilish is singing about falling in love with a girl. In the second half of the song, an echo effect gets added to her voice along with gasps in between lyrics which goes along with the theme and meaning of the song which is exciting love. This has quickly become a fan favorite with fans already obsessing over it on TikTok.
The third song of the album is titled “CHIHIRO.” The tempo and flow of the lyrics follow a pattern for most of the song. Her vocals throughout the song blend together nicely and build up to several high notes. This song will be finding its way onto many playlists including mine and other people who might not even consider themselves hardcore Eilish fans.
“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is the fourth track of the album. This song took me a couple of listens to find the true beauty behind it. Since it is a little more pop-like I wasn’t getting that typical Eilish sound, but after listening to it for a while it has become one of my favorites on the album.
Fifth on the tracklist is “WILDFLOWER.” This song is a slower song with softer lyrics and a mellow guitar rift throughout the entirety of the song. This song expresses a maturity in her voice and it sounds like a typical Eilish song, fitting the theme of the album which is the back and forth feeling of falling in and out of love. There is a build in her vocals toward the end which is the turning point of the song. The song might have been better if she had ended with her strong vocals instead of getting quiet again.
The sixth song, “THE GREATEST,” is about giving your all into a relationship and not being rewarded for the fruits of your labor. The lyric “Doing what’s right without a reward,” really sets the tone for the song and expresses the sentiment of selflessly loving without reciprocation. It is a slow and mellow song with one big build-up at the end where she lets everything out lyrically. Just like the previous track, she slows down the tempo toward the end of the song.
“L’AMOUR DE MA VIE,” which translates to “the love of my life” in French, is the seventh track on the album. The song strikes with heavy emotion behind meaningful lyrics. She starts the song off with a strong statement of her confessing that she lied about the love of her life. At the end of the song, the tempo picks up once more and an effect is placed on her voice, making it sound retro and childlike.
While the vocal effect that makes Eilish sound younger takes away from Eilish’s talented voice, the complexity of the storytelling throughout the song makes up for it. The song has a dramatic end paralleling how she is singing about a relationship coming to a hard end.
“THE DINER,” another fan favorite, is the eighth song of the album. It is an upbeat song repeating the same beat throughout the track. The violin chords stands out when it plays as it compliments and sets the song’s tone. The end of the song ends with Eilish whispering a phone number, having fans exhilarated to dial. The number led to a fun recording of Eilish speaking as if she were on the line.
“BITTERSUITE” is another calm and soft song and is the ninth song on the tracklist. There is a repeat of an instrumental melody throughout the song. The song is catchy but is not a standout on the album.
The album ends with the song “BLUE.” This is another song fans are obsessing over. This is the perfect song to end the album. She mentions topics mentioned in the other songs allowing the album to be tied all together perfectly.
Chef’s kiss.
I highly recommend this album to anyone wanting something new to listen to. Whether you are a fan of Eilish or not, there is likely something on the album that everyone can appreciate. Many Eilish fans are calling this the album of the year and they may be onto something.
