The pop star's third studio album was released at midnight on May 17.
At just 22 years old, it's hard to believe that Billie Eilish is already a veteran pop star three albums and seven years deep into her career — but here we are. Hit with hard and softher third and most deft studio LP to date, arrived promptly at midnight on Friday (May 17), bringing with it 10 new tracks about life in the spotlight, complicated friendships-turned-romances and Eilish embracing her sexuality.
From the emotional accountability of 'Wildflower' to the introspective 'Skinny', Eilish's latest set finds her in full possession of the narrative maturity she mastered on her 2021 sophomore effort Happier than everwhich spent three weeks atop the Billboard 200. But with gothic allusions to death and criminal activity in songs like “Birds of a Feather” and “The Diner,” and shades of blue that add a darker dimension to even the happiest moments of the album, the project also fulfills the star's promise that Hit with hard and soft would mark a return to the glamor of her first No. 1 hit record When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
“This whole process felt like I was going back to the girl I was,” she said Rolling rock In April she made the album with her brother and producer, Finneas, whose best work to date appears HMHAS. “I was upsetting her. I was looking for her in everything, and it's almost like she was drowned out by the world and the media. I don't remember when he left.”
Keep reading to see how Advertising sign ranks the songs on Eilish's new LP Hit with hard and softfrom worst to best, below.
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“Bitter Suite”
The album's penultimate track relies more on Finneas' artful production tricks than any lyrics or message, but it's certainly a fun listen. Its fragmented pacing may also deliberately reflect Eilish's impatience to maintain a relationship under the demands of her public work, which she addresses in lines like: “I've got to be careful, I've got to watch what I say/ God, I hope it all goes away.”
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“The Diner”
A fevered reverie of a song, “The Diner” marks a less serious break on the album, similar to Eilish's early hit “Bellyache,” in which she fantasized about hauling her friends' dead bodies in the back of her car. This time, she imagines herself as a delusional stalker—perhaps even impersonating one of her rabid admirers—breaking and entering her target's home in hopes of marrying someday.
“I came in from the kitchen looking for something to eat,” he shouts. “I left a calling card so they knew it was me.”
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“Chichiro”
Named after Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away the heroine, “Chihiro” has a lot going for her. A surging bass line and distorted synth flashes punctuate one of the funniest moments on the entire album, when Eilish sings, “Did you my love away from me?” As a whole, however, the song creates more of a video game-ready atmosphere as opposed to obeying a more traditional structure.
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“L'Amour de Ma Vie”
“L'Amour de Ma Vie” returns to the sass of Eilish's first tracks, such as “Bitches Broken Hearts” or “Party Favor”. “I have to admit I told you a lie,” he sings wistfully in the first half of the two-part track, “when I said you were the love of my life.”
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“Blue”
On “Blue”, Eilish and Finneas repeat many of the motifs featured throughout the album – similar to “Goodbye” on When we all sleep — including the glorious string crunch on the first track, “Skinny.” Bulky and cumulative, the album's swansong is about accepting circumstances for what they are, for all their beauty, pain and everything in between.
And yes, you heard her right at the end. “When can they hear the next one?” Eilish asks in an authentic voice, possibly hinting at a second album coming very soon.
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“Lunch”
“Lunch” finds Eilish fantasizing about a girl she wants to – as she puts it – eat for lunch, singing over an instantly addictive beat that eventually turns into an all-out club-ready dance banger. It marks the first time the musician has explicitly expressed her attraction to women in a song, a task she undertakes happily and freely.
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“Birds of a Feather”
“Birds of a Feather” is full of clichés. Even its title is one of the oldest idioms in the English language. But coming from a young star whose fame was propelled by her quirky outfits, bold lyrical themes and brave interview responses, such a simplistic love song is actually quite refreshing. Detractors of Eilish's signature vocal style will be silenced when they hear her belt out at full throttle on this emotional track, which is perfect for placement in a summer teen rom-com or two.
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“Skinny”
Eilish opens up Hit hard and soft with a song that bridges the reflection he made Happier than ever about stardom and her self-image in the most nuanced perspective she's gained since. Three years later, the star seems to have made peace with her station while still being candid about its shortcomings, describing it here as “a bird in a cage” or “a dog in a dog pound.”
“Twenty-one took a lifetime/ People say I look happy just because I got skinny,” he continues before letting listeners in on a little secret, one of his thesis statements Hit hard and soft: “But the old me is still me/ And maybe the real me and I think she's beautiful.”
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“The biggest”
Fans of the back half of 'Happier Than Ever' are sure to love 'The Greatest'. It begins as a no-holds-barred ballad about longing for more appreciation and reciprocity in a relationship, but eventually evolves into a cinematic rock free-for-all in which Eilish once again lets loose for a moment of glorious belting. This time, Eilish takes a belated account of her self-worth, instead of just focusing on her ex's flaws, making this a self-love anthem as much as a breakup song.
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“Wildflower”
“Wildflower” boasts some of Eilish's most mature songs to date, both in terms of artistry and perspective. Psychedelic and somber, it makes the telling of a complicated story seem simple, with the singer suffering quietly as she obsessively undoes her partner's ex-girlfriend.
Lines like 'I'd never ask who was better/ 'Cause she couldn't be more different than me/ Happy and free in the skin', for example, are both simple and visceral, while the line 'I know you didn't mean to with hurts/ So I kept it to myself” is devastating in context. And unlike some of the other standout songs HMHASEilish's storytelling is the focus, not the production.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/billie-eilish-hit-me-hard-and-soft-songs-ranked/