Billie Eilish, a 22 year-old pop star, there isn’t a music listener who doesn’t know who she is. Coming into fame from one of her first songs, Ocean Eyes, released in 2016. She rose to fame on TikTok and launched her career with another top song written with Khalid, “Lovely” and a successful EP, “don’t smile at me” in 2017. After it was sealed Billie Eilish, an uprising singer and a fashionista, took the internet and music industry by storm.
Fast forward to the present: Eilish’s last album was released in 2021, and she wrote a song for the widely popular Barbie‘ Movie called, What Was I Made For?, which touched thousands of heartstrings and is currently her most streamed song on Spotify with 843,799,383 streams.
Though Eilish has done a good job of appeasing her fans with occasional singles, fans are excited for the new release of Eilish’s album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, released on May 17, 2024.
Let’s start with a review of each song. First, this album is golden, successfully some of the best writing and vibes Eilish has ever created. Similar to her Don’t Smile At Me album and more of her old sound mixed with a new spin of electrodynamics and synth as well as catchy songs to keep moving to or to cry to. Each song feels deeply personal without saying names; it’s almost like the listener is living important life moments alongside Eilish.
When listening to this album for the first time I think it’s important to listen to it continuously all at once since some songs lead into others and connect the ending and beginnings. Billie Eilish wanted it to be this way as a whole experience that’s why she decided to make it an album instead of just singles.
SKINNY
The first song on the album, SKINNY, is a remembrance song of emotions previously felt and the emotions that have still carried on behind the scenes of fame. The lyrics, “I still cry” means that there are still many things that Eilish experiences even when she looks happy. Eilish goes on talking about being in a cage at shows and how the internet is hungry and the expectations the world has for her.
This all adds to show how Eilish is feeling about fame and the consequences. The real star of this song is the instrumental part at the end of the song which spells out the feelings Eilish is feeling without words. It truly is the most beautiful part of the song. You can feel a million words without even saying them, it’s a vulnerable moment.
LUNCH
Second on the tracklist is LUNCH which is very different from SKINNY. It’s a happy pop electric song that is about Eilish’s sexuality and loving women. It’s a celebration of shorts but it also is a love song. This has to be my personal top three of this album because of the fun melody and groove she adds to it. You can view the Eilish music video HERE, which adds to the fun creative side the music portrays.
CHIHIRO
The name confused me at first, but it is actually a Japanese name inspired from the movie “Spirited Away,” directed by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. While it also has a meaning, “A thousand questions” in Japanese Kanji, it is speculated that the song was inspired by this movie. Specifically, some of the lyrics match occurrences in the movie such as the lyrical line, “I was waiting’ in the garden” and “Said you won’t forget my name.” These are both references to the movie as Chirhiro the main protagonist forgets her name and is teleported to a magical world where she is a servant and her parents turn into pigs. This song has to be number two on my list for this album. It has unique synthetics and an open interpretation. It gives me a feeling of longing or nostalgia.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
“Birds of a Feather” is absolutely hands down the best song on the album. It’s a beautiful interpretation of love and can even be interpreted as friendship and loving a friend, “Birds of a feather we should stick together.” It truly is a mix of several different styles including pop, R&B, and synth. It brings a sense of happiness to the album and reminds you to care for those around you. This song is a beautiful display of everything healthy in a relationship.
WILDFLOWER
Another totally beautiful song about taking care of someone hurting and loving them at the same time. As well as how love falls apart and it doesn’t work out even when you want it to. This is the saddest song on the album sung with dripping sadness and a tint of regret in the lyrics, “I should put it all behind me, shouldn’t I? But I see her in the back of my mind.” I have no clue what Billie went through to feel like this. It almost sounds like she’s in between two people and they both fell in love with the same person and all the relationships are breaking down between them.
The song is truly beautiful and melancholy. It’s about questioning your decisions and actions. It was most likely named “Wildflower” to depict something that grew out of nothing and hardship. I love the open meaning to this song as it gives several different interpretations that allow each person to use the song and change it to their own.
THE GREATEST
This one would be number four on my list for this album. It is terribly sad to start by saying, “I’m trying my best.” It’s a song about disappointment and how others never lived up to your expectations or gave you what you put in. It feels raw and Eilish calls herself, “the greatest ” because she gave all her love and patience into the relationship only for it to not work out. It’s a song about wanting more and better treatment but not being strong enough to take it. Truly it is such a sad song but such happy words, it’s almost sarcastic.
L’AMOUR DE MA VIE
…meaning love of my life in French. It’s a blunt song and something new to Eilish’s previous tunes. Still, it included similar singing techniques, but the intro is as stripped down as possible. It’s a song about love and not loving someone back, “I told you a lie when I said you, you were the love of my life.” It also talks about the reality of a relationship that might be perfect in thought but you can only see how it truly was until you leave and see it from a different perspective.
It continues on and then changes after the lyrics, “I was the love of your life, but you were not mine.” It soon switches to a synthetic voice pitched up of Eilishes voice and then repeats like a broken robot while the beat picks up.
Then comes the fun part and Eilish has a full synth voice with an EDEM type of beat. It seems these parts were written at different times as Eilish seems more confident about her decision to leave more so than in the first part of the song by saying, “We’re so glad it’s over now.” After that, the song ends in synth and synth voice. Honestly, this song was unexpected, and I enjoyed seeing the new bounds of her musicality being pushed.
THE DINER
A song about Eilish’s stalker and how he broke into her home. This song is by far the most creative with synth and voice changes. But the reason “The Dinner” isn’t higher on the list is because the song comes from the point of view of the stalker. It talks about the mind and thought process behind her stalker and how he left a “calling card” at Billie Eilish’s house jumped the fence and was soon arrested and put in jail.
It develops what it means to be famous and the scary side of being loved by millions. The song has a creepy tone, but it makes it feel like the actions you take are justified. At the end of the song, Eilish whispers a phone number in the last lines, “310-807-3956,” and if you call it you can hear Eilish speaking, “Hello? Hello? Wait, I can’t hear you,” pre-recorded on. After that, you can sign up for automated messages from Eilish.
BITTERSUITE
Synthetics 100x with an almost ethereal opening and singing, followed by a single backbeat. “Bittersuite” is about not wanting to fall in love. Halfway through the song the pace of the sound completely changes giving a more calm feeling similar to another one of Eilishes songs, “Ilomilo.” It might be a sister song elaborating on her past self. Eilish wants to show that love is great but it can also be sad, such as “bittersuite” is named but it’s “suite” because it calls back to being in a hotel and memories she might have created in a suite. Ending the song is the tune of “True blue” to lead into the next song but a synthetic version which perfectly leads to the intro of, “BLUE.”
BLUE
Or also known as “True Blue” an unreleased song Eilish played at concerts a couple of times. The first part of the song is “True Blue” with different changes throughout. As the song goes on it transforms into a completely different song and vibe altogether. Almost like the past is transforming into something from the future. The first part of the song is good, but it is disappointing that she couldn’t release the original. But it does show a different side to Eilish and shows her development. It isn’t a favorite but it still is worth listening to.
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