“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” review: Billie Eilish presents a bold and minimalistic return to form

2024 has been a great year for music albums, especially those that present a cohesive artistic vision and solidify the style of an established artist. These include Taylor Swift’s recent Tortured Poets Department, Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER or Kali Uchis’ ORQUÍDEAS. It’s quite exciting to see such creative visions come together. The latest addition to this canon is Billie Eilish’s album Hit Me Hard and Soft, where the Gen-Z artist continues exploring questions about love, fame, and young adulthood, much like she did in her 2021 album Happier Than Ever. This time, Eilish employs a more subtle and minimalistic production style that revives some of the edgy musical choices characteristic of her work and creates an incredibly effective portrait of a generational talent.

Billie Eilish gained widespread acclaim in 2019 with her debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. Back then, her edgy production and goth revival imagery resonated with an angsty pre-pandemic Gen-Z. Her follow-up album, Happier Than Ever, shifted towards a grandiose, theater-inspired sound influenced by classic songwriters like Julie London. Now, Hit Me Hard and Soft represents a sort of return to form. The album is named after a synth preset in Logic Pro, a software frequently used by music producers like Eilish’s collaborator and brother Finneas. It features 10 tracks of a more seasoned Eilish trying to make sense of the complexities of fame and identity with a more scaled-back production approach and with some deviations from her layered gothic style.

An exploration of young adulthood

In fact, the album opens with a rather conventional pop song, the increasingly orchestral guitar ballad “SKINNY”. In this track, Eilish reflects on the impact of fame and Internet culture with searing lyrics like “And the internet is hungry for the meanest kind of funny / And somebody’s gotta feed it.” Some of these conventional entries also include the joyful “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”. There, Eilish creates a Paramore inspired summery bop about a profound commitment to another person. This is the first time the artist creates a track that can exist in Top 40 radio. Nevertheless, haunting lyrics juxtapose the summery vibe with moments like “I want you to stay / Till I’m in the grave Till I rot away, dead and buried / Till I’m in the casket you carry”.

The album also continues exploring some of the more difficult experiences of young love with tracks like “WILDFLOWER,” a quiet ballad about a romantic relationship with a friend’s ex-partner. This song includes an ominous distant bridge that is a highlight of the album. These more conventional songs also include “THE GREATEST,” a sort of follow-up to the titular track of “Happier Than Ever.” In this track, Eilish grieves over a partner’s uneven commitment with the accompaniment of a rubber-bridge guitar. It has its predecessor’s powerful rock outro and even more powerful vocal command. These more traditional tracks solidify the thematic elements Eilish is trying to pursue, including the angst of wanting to be close to a person but failing to do so because of external factors.

A return to form

One can’t help but imagine that her complicated relationship with fame and fandom also inform some of these lyrics. In addition, the subtle and minimalistic production further allows her vocals to shine throughout. It’s almost reminiscent of her bedroom-pop origins, but with a more refined and confident aura. This earned confidence shows in the musical risks she takes on some tracks. For instance, the intense ostinato bass lines of “bad guy” return stronger than ever with “LUNCH,” a racy exploration of sapphic love with guitar riffs that are reminiscent of the soundtrack of James Bond films.

Her signature ominous harmonies appear in tracks like the Studio Ghibli-inspired “CHIRIO”. There, a marvelous arpeggiated synthesizer accompanies a dark meditation on the fleeting nature of human connection. They continue soaring in “THE DINER” is an eerie fantasy from the perspective of a stalker. Its highlights are the echoey voices it traps the a dark beat and whispered references to a phone number. Curiously, when listeners call that number, they are hear a recording of Eilish’s voice. While this might have been unintentional, it adds a meta-textual depth by turning the audience that deciphered the hidden reference into a sort of stalker.

Moreover, Eilish’s structural changes also make a comeback. This time, however, they are not merely there for shock value, as they were in her first album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? but serve as interwoven artistic choices. They serve to highlight the themes of growing up and moving on. “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE” (The Love of My Life) is evidence of this. The track begins as a traditional jazz song that devolves into a mixture of European house music and hyper-pop. The lyrics poke fun at a mediocre partner by using extensive voice distortion, the most Eilish has used in recent memory. Moreover, “BLUE” constantly changes tempo, bridging to previously unreleased songs and recapitulating the tracks of the album with a haunting middle section.

The bottom line

Despite its short length, Hit Me Hard and Soft is one of Eilish’s most musically inventive albums. It creates a soundscape that is not easily forgotten, boldly explores the deep feelings of young adulthood and identity, and does so with a seriousness and earnestness that is rarely seen. Portraying such complexity with only 10 tracks is a feat on its own. Although Eilish excels at confidently asking questions about how hard it is to grow up, she seems to leave the answers missing, which gives the album a lingering tension that makes it feel incomplete. Maybe the answers aren’t there yet, but if Eilish continues exploring them with the same richness as she did with this album, her career will continue to be incredibly promising.