Billie Eilish – HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Pop queens (Bey, TSwift, etc.) were releasing bloated pop albums this spring, but Billie Eilish overshadowed them by releasing a taut 10-song pop masterpiece. First, it is an ALBUM, and it demands to be listened to from start to finish (just like the old days). That is a tall task to ask in our short attention span age, but at least put it on while making dinner (it is an appropriate sub-45-minute length). Second, it is an evolution in sound, lyrics, and, most of all, Billie’s singing. The sound is lush: Billie and Finneas sound like they have escaped the bedroom and found a studio. Finneas is the new Daft Punk, but more talented – he does it all himself! The lyrics sound like the musings of a young adult vs. a teenager. Billie has not abandoned the whisper, but she has expanded the palette. Third, it has bangers. There are so many earworms here. I can imagine songs like “LUNCH” in a club, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” in a prom scene in a coming-of-age film, and “THE GREATEST” rocking an arena show.

I will stake my measly music-head reputation on the line and say that the new Billie Eilish album is a pop masterpiece and one of the year’s best new albums. I am not saying that it will have any significant cultural impact or that anyone other than her hardcore fans will care about this album in a month, just that it is excellent, and I want everyone my age to hear it. I hate that people my age (65) think there is no significant new music. Granted, nothing significantly new has occurred in pop music since I graduated from high school in 1977, but that doesn’t mean great new music isn’t being made. This album should appeal to open-eared and musically adventurous boomers. Please listen!

When Billie Eilish came on the scene, she was hard to miss. She had big hits with an original sound that was catchy as hell (Nine Inch Nails Lite). She was a teenage pop star not manufactured by a corporation – she was a SoundCloud artist with a huge hit (”Ocean Eyes”). Visually, she was goth-lite androgynous. I didn’t take her seriously as I assumed she was just another teenybopper pop star (not my first time failing to grasp the significance of a young pop star – sorry, Taylor). But when Andrew Marshall became her touring drummer, I had to give her a second look. I knew Andrew through my son. Andrew was in a Chicago band (whysowhite) that my son managed. Andrew is a talented drummer and had played in several up-and-coming groups and solo acts, so I assumed he wouldn’t just take a gig for the payday – Andrew must think Billie had something. Giving “the kid” a second chance, with more open ears, I realized that she was a generational talent. By the second album, I realized she and Finneas were evolving talents. They have developed even more on HIT ME HARD AND SOFT – this is their best album.

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is a fitting title for Billie Elish, as her music has hit hard (bangers) and soft (quiet vocals and bedroom arrangements) since the beginning. On this album, Billie and Finneas have distilled that combo to perfection.

Billie is no stranger to being the victim of fat shaming, and she has been brilliant in her retaliation to people who judge a girl/woman by how she looks and, more specifically, by how thin or fat she is. On her last album, she said: “Would you like me to be smaller, weaker, softer, taller?” In the new song “Skinny,” she says:

“People say I look happy
Just because I got skinny
But the old me is still me and maybe the real me”

This opening track sets the stage for the new sonic palette. It starts out with mellow instrumentation and the classic Billie breathy vocal. But in the song’s second half, Billie’s vocals increase in volume and intensity – she is really singing! The song ends with a string section outro and a drum machine transition to the next song. Overall, the music is very sophisticated.

“Lunch” sounds like a hit. It has a mature theme: comparing sex to the noon meal:

“I could eat that girl for lunch
Yeah, she dances on my tongue
Tastes like she might be the one”

Eilish told Rolling Stone magazine in a recent interview that writing “Lunch” was part of her exploring her sexuality: “That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real.” Billie has come out as queer in that article, and this is her anthem. The song is sexy, and I love Finneas’ Euro-disco bass.

According to genius.com, “Chihiro” is based on the 2001 Oscar-winning film Spirited Away. The film follows a girl who “learned to face her fears by developing a heightened understanding and appreciation of life.” The song has a relaxed trip-hop vibe.

“Birds of a Feather” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. It is a gorgeous slow dance – this could be a Sade song. The song presents a new Billie voice – a more conventional pop vocal, yet she retains her signature floatiness. Lyrically, it is a traditional love song: “Birds of a feather, we should stick together…But if it’s forever, it’s even better.”

“Wildflower” is another favorite. It is a beautiful-sounding ballad with an acoustic(ish) arrangement and an excellent vocal from Billie. It tells the story of the narrator comforting a woman who has just experienced a breakup only to have the narrator admit they are having a relationship with the woman’s ex.

“The Greatest” is a power ballad that starts with Billie’s breathy vocals but soars at other points in the song. Lyrically, the narrator juxtaposes bravado with unrequited love. I can’t wait to hear this in concert.

“L’Amour de ma vie” means “the love of my life” in French. This is the opposite of unrequited love: the narrator says:

“I was the love of your life, mm
But you were not mine (But you were not mine)”

The song has an almost jazzy vibe, and I could easily imagine someone like Amy Winehouse covering it.

“The Diner” takes the perspective of a stalker over a creepy beat. It is the one song on the album that is not autofiction.

“Bittersuite” is a clever homophone of bittersweet. The narrator is trapped in a hotel suite and can’t engage in the world – I assume because of their fame. The song is constructed like a little pop suite with two distinct music pieces woven into a single song. Even within the second section, there are multiple musical components. This is an example of the evolution in musical complexity that Billie and Finneas have accomplished on this album.

“Blue” is another multi-part suite. The song’s first half has an upbeat pop sound, but the second half has a sadder and more atmospheric sound. The second section has a unique bridge and string outro. Lyrically, it borrows lines and ideas from the rest of the songs on the album. It is a reverse overture—summarizing the album rather than setting it up. Clocking in at nearly six minutes, it is the most complex song on the album.

Billie and Finneas have accomplished a remarkable feat: introducing themselves to the world via the internet with their bedroom productions a decade ago and gaining traction with viral hits, releasing a successful and stunning debut, avoiding the sophomore slump with an even better second album, and now releasing their best album: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Each step has been a step forward. They have become a mainstream pop act without compromising their integrity. Billie speaks authentically in an inauthentic genre. Most importantly, they have released an ALBUM (demands to be listened to as a whole) filled with earworms that demand to be listened to.