Hit Me Hard and Soft is Billie Eilish's most daring, grandest, and expensive sounding album to date. As ambitious as this album is, it's simply just not hard hitting enough, especially coming from an artist this massive. There are interesting progressions and avenues but many come off as dated, awkward, or they don't get pushed enough.
Billie Eilish is one of music's biggest young stars who seems to be growing, maturing, and morphing with each new album. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? truly broke through the stratosphere and made Eilish an icon rapidly and quickly, winning over fans and critics alike. It gave her a signature style, hushed singing, hip hop aesthetics and singer songwriter acoustics with sharp contrasts in sound and a leap of influence for newer artists. Her next project Happier Than Ever is even better by adding more genres, stronger song craft, and sharper production from her brother Finneas O'Connell. Other than her unique musical style and singing voice, what else made Eilish stand out among the crowd are her unique appearances, DIY bedroom pop appeal, and with her music being exclusively produced by Finneas, it's clear that Billie Eilish is one of pop's most unique artists.
Now three years after her previous album comes her third, titled Hit Me Hard and Soft. With each project containing different styles, this record is her largest, grandest attempt so far. There are big swings coming out of the gate with orchestras, cinematic progressions, electronics, rock epics, as well as showing off the fuller range in Eilish's voice, which is typically minimized to a hushed whisper. What's also interesting is the decision to not release any singles leading up to the album's release which is pretty are for such a huge artist like Eilish. I'm all for this marketing move since it shows surprise and mystique in a current world of music that becomes more and more predictable by the day. Not hearing any singles prior to the album's release, I really didn't know what direction Eilish would go in. As versatile of an artist and singer, she really could go in so many directions.
For starters, Hit Me Hard and Soft is her most daring, grandest, and expensive sounding album to date. It is certainly her largest attempt for an album to reach towards a stadium sized level, which totally makes sense considering her gigantic fanbase, status as a megastar, and current stadium tour (which was an upcoming tour when the album initially came out). There are huge swings for the fences here such as the album opener, "Skinny." An album favorite for me, the song sets up the album on a big budget, cinematic scale with Eilish singing in her full range being backed by a full on orchestra and skeletal guitar. It's a gorgeous tone setter that shows off Eilish's vocals and has lyrics of growing up, becoming an adult, her ever changing body as a result and what the body perceptions typically are for female pop stars. "Lunch" is a certified banger that cheekily expresses Eilish eating... something for lunch (you'll know it instantly if you hear it) with a groovy electro pop instrumental that's pure fun. It's very infectious with its surprisingly dark instrumental and I appreciate the stylistic shifts when the bass expands, even if those effects sound a bit dated. I do wish for the song to be a bit weirder but it's still quite a successful song. "Birds of a Feather" is a dream pop song at a huge scale and deservedly has been dominating the charts all Summer. It's sticky, pretty, and a highlight on the album that definitely showcases her upper register and strength as a singer along with some great harmonies.
"Chihiro" is another great moment on the album, being a moody dance pop song that builds and builds into a climax that features electronics rising and rising in volume. It's pretty great and has a solid payoff towards its end, making the five minute runtime worth it. As solid as it is, I do wish there was more twists and turns to it. When listening to this album from start to finish, I was definitely excited to hear the rest after listening to these first four tracks, which are all the songs I've covered thus far. The rest of the album has its moments for sure but after "Birds of a Feather" is when things start to derail a little bit. As ambitious as Hit Me Hard and Soft is, it's simply just not hard hitting enough, especially coming from an artist this massive. There are interesting progressions and avenues she goes in throughout the album but ultimately many come off as dated, awkward, or they don't get pushed enough. "Wildflower" is a pretty acoustic adult contemporary attempt at early Sia worship that goes over well but is just not as memorable as the previous songs. "The Greatest" is an attempt at going epic with its soaring, explosive climax of cinematic strings, booming drums and guitar. It reminds me of the title track off of her last album where she really goes hard for a loud pop rock epic. It's admirable and comes off just ok for me... these epic rock attempts from Eilish simply come off a little dated and half baked to me. There are other artists over the years who've done it better and have made this style more interesting.
"L'Amour de Ma Vie" is a song that executes an adult contemporary pop sound better than "Wildflower" and there's much more personality coming through the lyrics and vocal performance. It's solid but it definitely doesn't warrant its five and a half minute long runtime. "The Diner" is a moody, slouchy piece of Gorillaz-styled lounge jazz (think "Doncamatic," which is infinitely superior) that isn't for me and sticks out like a sore thumb. There are too many overstuffed bells and whistles and echoing on her voice and it all just comes off as annoying and an immediate skip for me. "Bittersuite" surprisingly has these buzzing video game-like synthesizers all over the track and some moodier vocals from Eilish with some interesting progressions. It's another case on the album that's admirable and hat tipping, but is awkwardly dated and shifts into an oddly jazzy avenue that's forgettable. "Blue" closes the album in a dreamy, cinematic fashion and also shifts awkwardly into yet another different avenue that's interesting but ultimately needs more work in the studio.
The album's finish left me scratching my head, which is pretty much what this album as a whole left me feeling after its awesome four song running start. I commend Eilish for what she's trying to do on this album: the grand, epic presentation, the different styles and sounds, expanding her fuller vocal range, the many unexpected progressions and twists within many of the songs. But ultimately Hit Me Hard and Soft misses the mark. There are some great songs here and some ideas that I like but there are also awkward progressions into sonic avenues that are not smooth, song elements that repeat too much and aren't being pushed hard enough, and ideas that I find dated, which is such a surprise coming from an artist I would typically brand as innovative. Eilish and Finneas didn't come up with a bad project here but rather a mixed bag with much room for improvement. With every song that works comes a song that either doesn't work or works to a qualifying level and not an exemplary one. Eilish swung for the fences and as a result, she's knocked some home runs into the stands but she's also hit some ground balls a few times too.
My Rating: 6 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Lunch," "Skinny," "Birds of a Feather," "Chihiro"
Comments