Billie Eilish is a 22 year old singer/songwriter & actress from Los Angeles, California being the daughter of Maggie Baird & younger sister of her brother & producer FINNEAS. Signing to Interscope Records in 2016, her debut EP the next summer don’t smile at me was a solid electro-pop & alt-pop effort on top of her debut full-length When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? fusing the sounds of don’t smile at me with alternative R&B & the sophomore effort Happier Than Ever later primarily basing itself around alt-pop & contemporary R&B. The quality of her music has been steadily increasing with her last couple albums & that had me highly anticipating Hit Me Hard & Soft.
“Skinny” starts us off with atmospheric guitar-laced production talking about falling in love for the first time & pondering if she’s on her way out whereas “Lunch” makes a turn into groovy pop rock territory dedicating it to cunnilingus. “Chihiro” works in a funkier backdrop with some synthesizers asking if she’ll know what to say when she comes back around referencing her love for the 2001 animated masterpiece Spirited Away, but then “Birds of a Feather” ethereally talks about eternal love.
Moving on from there, “Wildflower” takes the stripped-back route instrumentally asking a woman that she often sees in the back of her mind if she crossed the line with her just before “The Greatest” keeps it primarily acoustic until crescending during the last minute & a half or so trying her best to keep her lover satisfied. The 2-part “L’amour de ma Vie” reflecting on a previous relationship she had starting calmly ahead of a dance-inspired 2nd half leading into “The Diner” incorporating heavier synthesizers talking about not being afraid of her since she’s what you need.
“Bittersuite” nears Hit Me Hard & Soft’s by giving us another 2-parter telling her partner she can’t fall in love with them no matter how badly she wants to & being left alone in her hotel suite feeling bitter hence the play on the word “bittersweet” while the closing “Blue” properly rounds out the LP with 1 final 2-part track trying to live black & white despite feeling down, confessing that she only sleeps 3 hours every night & proceeding to tell someone she doesn’t blame nor hate that she can’t save or change them.
To tie things up here, I pointed out Billie’s artistic progression with each project she’s given us in the last 7 years at the beginning of this review & this new album here takes deeming quality of her music to a brand new level. She feels much more like herself detailing who she was when she as opposed to the last couple LPs revolving around a different character. Billie even expands beyond her signature alt-pop sound whilst maintaining the additional elements of alternative R&B, indietronica & singer/songwriter by even dabbling with both indie folk & pop rock here & there.
Score: 4.5/5
Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!
Legends Will Never Die 