The highly anticipated third album from Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard And Soft, is finally here. A mix of romance, pop, and electronic music, wrapped in some interesting musical atmospheres, unified by Billie’s distinctive voice and the characteristic sound of her musical productions.
As always, the album was created by Billie in collaboration with her brother and musical producer, Finneas. Talking about a new release under the acclaimed singer’s name is really talking about a record by both of them. In fact, it is mainly Finneas who composes the music and guides the production, while Billie, in addition to singing, generates vocal melodies, lyrics, and general ideas.
Billie is so successful and renowned that she could choose to work with any music producer on the planet and produce her music in the most expensive and luxurious recording studios that exist. However, she has remained loyal to her musical relationship with Finneas, despite the limited musical creation capacity of the duo.
Moreover, they continue to produce their records in a simple studio, using recording techniques that would make many “professional producers” pull their hair out due to their improvised and “imperfect” nature.
To me, this only demonstrates the following: what matters in a musical production is not technical perfection, but capturing a feeling or something unique. In the case of Billie and Finneas, I think it’s obvious to anyone who truly pays attention to their records that what they have there is something very special and distinctive, no matter how limited it may be musically and technically.
When I listen to their music, I notice that the duo is having a great time producing their music, with a playful and creative approach.
On the other hand, the fact that Billie Eilish’s records sound so good, even with such modest production, shows that today’s recording and digital production technology is so good that you don’t need much to create records with high-quality sound and the potential to reach a huge audience.
Anyway, here are my impressions of each song on Hit Me Hard And Soft.
The album begins with “Skinny,” a slow ballad based on the sound of an arpeggiated electric guitar and Billie’s silky vocal performance, with small interludes where the singer produces lovely melodies in a higher register than usual. The lyrics address the criticism she has received for losing weight. The song ends with the appearance of violins, announcing the romantic element in the album.
For those who expected to hear the hard pop for which Billie is better known, they might feel a bit disoriented by this soft beginning. Everything changes quickly with the arrival of “Lunch,” the second song, which contrasts significantly with its faster beat and quasi-dance pop sound, with Billie singing at full blast, in a catchy way, about her playful fantasy of a cute girl she could “eat for lunch.”
“Chihiro” continues with this pop sound line, though more subtly, gradually building up to a crescendo of an auto-arpeggiated synthesizer. Soon the song speeds up with the entry of electronic drums and more synthesizers. This song has some of Billie’s best melodies on the entire album, along with very emotional vocal performances.
“Birds of a Feather” is a pretty electronic pop song with a nostalgic sound. It could almost be a filler song, as its sound is not particularly innovative. But Billie’s performance is as beautiful as ever, and she sings with a lot of pasion, which elevates the song. Finneas’ small arrangements in the background help keep the interest and create an entertaining atmosphere.
“Wildflower” reintroduces the guitar as a base. This time, an acoustic with strummed chords, and Billie showing us one moving melody after another. It seems her repertoire of excellent melodies is endless. Here we hear again the romantic sound that Billie and Finneas conjure up time and again in Hit Me Hard And Soft. This beautiful song ends with an emotional and melancholic vocal performance by Billie.
The ballad “The Greatest” continues with the acoustic guitar and the romantic sound, opening with an arpeggio that is almost a small and simple background accompaniment to Billie’s powerful voice. The lyrics of this song frustrate me a bit, as they are typical unrequited teenage love lyrics. It’s not surprising; Billie has just turned 20. If it weren’t for the lyrics, it might be a more memorable ballad.
“L’Amour De Ma Vie,” lyrically, seems to me a continuation of the previous song, but from the point of view of someone resigned to not having captured that unrequited love. And the song comes at an excellent moment since, after a few ballads, the album picks up again with a more playful and accelerated sound. The surprise ending of the song is one of my favorite parts of the album: suddenly the song transforms into fast electronic pop in the best Daft Punk style.
“The Diner” is one of my favorite songs on the album, with its beginning that sounds like circus music mixed with tango violins. It’s a song with a twisted sound that Billie seems completely committed to. It flows naturally for her. The lyrics are equally twisted, worthy of Harley Quinn. It’s with this song that I really feel highly surprised, as I wouldn’t expect to hear such a dark, even slightly disturbing song, on an album that tops global pop music charts. But it is, and I love it!
“Bittersuite,” the penultimate song, begins with a synthesis of the album’s romantic sound and the electronic sound, although after the first minute the song changes completely. It almost sounds like a different song, with its percussive organ that recalls the circus-like beginning of The Diner, making the song much more dynamic and interesting. The song concludes again with a surprise ending: a short part reminiscent of a suspense movie, with an electropop ending, serving as a transition to the album’s final song.
“Blue,” the longest song of the collection, better achieves that synthesis of romance, melancholy, and the electronic and pop music of Hit Me Hard And Soft. Billie has commented that Blue is actually an amalgam of two old songs that never saw the light of day before. And it shows. The song evolves through a series of very different parts, some even recalling melodies in previous songs on the album. It’s an appropriate ending for this interesting album.
I sincerely recommend all my readers give Hit Me Hard And Soft a few listens. Those who enjoy Billie Eilish’s music already know what to expect, but for those who don’t, I think they will find in this collection of songs something more than the manufactured teenage pop it might seem at first glance.
