THE MIRROR | Courtesy of Billie Eilish
As you open your audio streaming services, a recommended album shows up in your feed, and you observe “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eilish; it’s her newest album.
You start to ponder and realize you haven’t heard her music since the Barbie movie premiered last summer.
“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” is pop singer Billie Eilish’s third album, which was released on May 17, 2024, and contains 10 songs.
Ever since Billie Eilish released her first album, she has been known for her unique style of music, characterized by her dark sound and introspective lyrics.
Her newest album is a different style from her other two. She wanted to evoke sad, intimate and beautiful emotions within her lyrics.
A goal which she certainly met.
One of the most influential songs for this album is “SKINNY”, which reflects how Eilish had to handle the online criticisms of her weight. When she started to lose weight, many people online assumed that she was happier, but in reality, she feels the same, which has led her to just accept herself for who she is.
In “WILDFLOWER” Eilish sings songs about how she dated her friend’s ex.
During the song we can feel how Billie is conflicted for her actions, and how although she made a mistake dating him, her relationship brought her and her friends closer together, bonding over dating the same man.
Wishing someone the best after trying the most that you could to save the relationship that ended on a sour note.
The seventh track “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE” conveys Eilish reflecting on a past relationship and growing from it. The name which translates to “Love of my life” is used throughout the first part of the song over and over again expressing how she felt like they could have been the one and how she feels a sense of guilt over not being able to be the one for them either. In the songs she mentions putting in more effort than her ex as well as feeling resent towards them by wanting an apology for feeling emotionally manipulated by them to stay in the relationship.
The second part of the song shows her overcoming the pain and growing from it a transition of electronic types of beats. She reflects more over being completely over them and not having them on her mind anymore. Her growth really shines through at the end of the song as she lets go of that pain and feels more free from it now that it is over. Overcoming the pain with confidence.
A bitter but sweet desire for love is something that most of us experience at some point of our lives. “BITTERSUITE”, the ninth track in the album, brings that feeling with emotionally powered lyrics. Billie conveys the want to fall in love but knows no matter what in the end she can’t because she wants to protect herself from getting hurt.
Most of us have at least experienced this one way or another whether it is happening now or has happened before. The song makes people resonate with Billie and her experience because most would want to be in love but oftentimes can’t for certain reasons or circumstances in their lives.
The recurring reason however for most is not wanting to get hurt due to past relationships. Which is very well presented in song again through it’s lyrics and soft but slow melodies and beats that make it a more calming listen.
It has been three years since Billie Eiish released an album, and now in 2024 we have her newest album, so how have fans of Billie reacted?
Without any prior singles, her albums release was praised for its emotive songwriting bringing the same quality as her past work, bringing the consistency of Billie’s intuitive songwriting.