It was the day after HIT ME HARD AND SOFT came out I finally had time to give it the attentive listen it deserved. From the moment I hit play, it felt like I was being transported. I was floating and elevating through a complicatedly compelling emotional narrative. From the string compositions to the heavy beats, the building crescendos, layered vocals, ad-libs, and subtle motifs, there is so much to rave about. In this powerful third outing, Eilish and her brother Finneas teach a masterclass in confessional lyricism and innovative instrumentation. The follow-up to 2021’s Happier Than Ever was undoubtedly worth the wait.
The first track ‘SKINNY’ opens with an unassuming yet powerfully gentle fingerpicked guitar riff. Billie’s soft vocals build like a lullaby before the lyrics hit you with a sucker punch to the gut.
‘I fell in love for the first time
With a friend, it’s a good sign
Feelin’ off when I feel fine
21 took a lifetime’
‘SKINNY’ by Billie Eilish
We are immediately submerged in arguably one of history’s most relatable opening lines. I’m sure many of you reading this resonate with the ‘BITTERSUITE’(ness) of falling in love with a friend. I’m sure many of us understand the difficulty of walking the thin line between the platonic and romantic, and most crucially the feelings of anxiety and depression evoked in the second line.
Her command of rhythm, rhyme and iambic pentameter paired with her use of metaphor,
‘when I step off the stage, I’m a bird in a cage’
‘SKINNY’ by Billie Eilish
(evoking Maya Angelou), makes Eilish, in every sense of the word, a poet. One whose stream-of-consciousness writing style can appeal to millions and still feel intimate and introspective.
The closing string composition always makes me feel like crying. On later listens one realises the strings are the melody for the bridge in ‘THE GREATEST’. This sense of continuity creates a brilliant narrative thread. Furthermore, it could suggest both songs refer to the same person.
The album transitions into the compressed drums of instant standout ‘LUNCH’. This song is an audaciously welcome reminder that sapphics are indeed winning in the music industry! Victoria Monét, Reneé Rapp, Kehlani, Chappell Roan, Rina Sawayama and (thankfully) so many more… we see you and we thank you!
The beat, the unapologetically horny lyrics, and the breathy vocal chops at the end of the song capture the joy of oral sex in a single track. For a long time, sexual narratives in songs focused on the desires of heterosexual men, relegating women to the role of objects rather than equal and enthusiastic participants. So, it’s always amazing to witness women (especially queer women) reign over their sexual exploration.
Travelling to ‘CHHIRO’, the consensus is that the bridge makes you feel like you’re floating. I couldn’t agree more. From my first listen to now, I still feel like I’m levitating every time the building synth hits. The track rises from a brewing subtlety into an elevating bridge through powerful crescendos, building tempos, and vocal layering. These are staples in the two-time Oscar-winning duo’s latest offering. Embodying the title by hitting the listener hard and soft, the LP’s sequencing reflects this too.
The upbeat melody of ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ departs from the melodic heaviness of ‘CHHIRO’. It features stunning lyricism about undying love.
‘I want you to stay
Til I’m in the grave’
‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ by Billie Eilish
There is simultaneous imagery of death and devotion paired with the song’s light instrumental. Like a lot of the Grammy darling’s discography, it expertly balances optimism and melancholy. No wonder it was used in the date announcement for Heartstopper season 3- a season a lot heavier than previous instalments
‘WILDFLOWER’ showcases Billie and Finneas’s ability to hide musical narrative elements in plain sight. If you listen carefully enough to the opening you might hear what sounds like rain and footsteps on the pavement.
‘BITTERSUITE’ swoons in. The record being spelt ‘suite’ rather than ‘sweet’ adds a nuanced dynamic to the song. Not only does it refer to the bittersweetness of romance, but the ‘suite’ could be interpreted as the lovers’ ‘discrete’ meeting place.
Again, she references previous tracks ‘CHHIRO’ and ‘LAMOUR DE MA VIE’ suggesting they all refer to the same person. The tango-infused melody reflects the push and pull between the speaker’s desire and caution and moves swiftly into the start of the ending track ‘BLUE’.
‘BLUE’ is a rewrite of an older previously leaked song. It is the perfect conclusion to the album’s narrative. Her callbacks to previous songs make the album a cohesive collection of independently impressive songs that unite to form a beautiful narrative. In this way, HARD AND SOFT is reminiscent of Frank Ocean’s Blond.
‘BLUE’ ends with the ad-lib ‘So when can I hear the next one’ leaving fans on the edge of their seats.
What’s next for Billie and Finneas?
When can we hear the next one?
