Reviews (page 2 of 2)
Very good will listen again
Last one again. This was pretty good
SKINNY - Calm start 2/5 LUNCH - Okay 2/5 CHIHIRO - Intense synth 3/5 BIRDS OF A FEATHER - Not terrible 2/5 WILDFLOWER - Big drums 3/5 THE GREATEST - Good, but not the greatest 3/5 L'AMOUR DE MA VIE - Fun switch up 3/5 THE DINER - Alright 2/5 BITTERSUITE - Rain drops 3/5 BLUE - Thick, spacious harmonies 3/5 Thoughts that come to mind: "I like Billie's voice. Soft. Sultry." "I like it when it's less bubblegum." "I have not listened to this album, but I have heard some of this stuff from being around my wife." "So many sounds layered. There is a lot to pay attention to." "The softer songs hit harder." "Unexpected fun!" "I like the abrupt shifts some of these songs take. Musically, they don't sound out of place and they make the songs more interesting."
Hell yeah a new inclusion on the newest edition of the book! I like this one, as it shows Billie's capability as an album artist. Favorite track is Lunch.
Not a bunch of standout songs but overall it is a solid listen. I enjoyed this.
2.3
Interesting production, but her breathy voice gets a bit old. Not as many catchy songs as I would have expected for how popular she is. Just not for me. 2.5/5 Won't listen again
I'd never heard a single song by Bille Ellish before and I wasn't sure what to expect, certainly not this. It was a bit mumbly and slow for my liking, never really going anywhere, but it was decent background music I guess. The production saved it from one star, so two stars it is.
Creative but a great deal of breathy angst and self doubt makes it hard to listen after the first few songs.
9/10
Teetered between 4 and 5, having listened to this in atmos I can appreciate how well it's put together. It's as good as some of the other 5s I've given, especially in terms of production, song writing, and performances.
Really solid album. Lots of range and depth. Not my usual taste in music, but you can’t help but like it.
Not her biggest fan, but every her release is at least good
I think that the compiler of the book slept in (no pun intended) by omitting When We All Fall Asleep where Do We Go from the last edition and has tried to redress the balance by putting Billie Eilish’s least interesting album in the new book.
i mean no notes. since the day it came out i've been obsessed.
LUNCH // THE DINER // 3.5/5
Yay, more pop music! OK, this is better than that Charli xcx bullshit. It's less dance club and more indie pop, I guess. But still...
Lunch was a great song. The rest didn't care for either way. Her wispier singing on the first song annoyed me. 3 out of 5
Sounds deep. Liked it
Glad I finally listened to it.
Dream pop. Departure from debut’s heavy electronic feel. Good.
Ziemlich chillig, solide.
Tolles Album, hatte ich in meinen Top 20 des Jahres!
A couple months back I saw a trailer for a concert movie they made based on the tour supporting this album and it made me think. I can’t conceptualize wanting to listen to this music in an arena. Nothing about this really screams “I need to hear this from the upper decks in the Wells Fargo Center with an 18 dollar bud light”. A small theater? Maybe. Billie makes headphones music for when you are watching raindrops race down the window of a city bus. I do like this album though. The production is really great and the songs are well written. Her vocal skills really get a chance to shine here. Also The Diner somewhat sounds like The Way You Move by Outkast. Favorites were Lunch, Birds Of A Feather, and The Greatest.
Easy easy easy five stars.
Melancholy feeling pop
Billie Eilish is this generation's talent. Her addition to this list is earned. 3/5
I truly consider it a great release, but it's a bit repetitive to listen to it fully. "Happier Than Ever" would be a better inclusion.
There is an understated power to her music
Emotional dark downbeat pop album that focuses lyrically on ex's, depression, regrets, and heartbreak. Beats are simple, don't try to do too much. Standout was "SKINNY" which is more stripped down than most of the album. Dud was "THE GREATEST" which felt repetitive.
I liked this more than I expected today. Eilish's voice is stark and sincere. I liked the songwriting and lyrics to this one. The best of the new albums added I have heard so far. Top tracks: "Wildflower," "The Greatest"
It really hits for me
jungstar, beeindruckend. musikalisch ist es pop. punkt.
Mal was Neueres Aber mir gefällt es nicht so sehr.
ery nice
Moody pop. The production is top notch. But I’d prefer listening to Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief, boygenius and the like.
3.5
I’m sure this album is lyrically interesting, but I couldn’t understand shit with the constant whispering. Maybe I’m a pop hater after all.
This is not even the best Billie Eilish album of the last 10 years, a poor choice and still too new to include.
Billie is the only current mega pop star that I think is a genuine artist. This album was great and is easily the best of this new bunch of albums added to the updated list.
I have never listened to a Billie Eilish album before and have only really heard her most famous songs in passing. I have heard a lot about her and I had high expectations for this album given all the acclaim its gotten. I was disappointed. It's good, but it didn't feel like it reached the highs that other albums have that are in the similar atmosphere. Also in terms of album covers of being submerged underwater in a bedroom, Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising is way better. Still I think it's a good modern addition. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Yes.
As an old man at the time of this writing, the "vibes" that youngsters these days speak so glowingly of rarely touch me, so I was surprised how quickly the vibes of this album struck me. I loved this album the first time I heard it, and usually I can write a response right away when I love an album, but this one took about half a dozen listens--no, basking in the vibes--before I felt like I could write anything. Now read back over what I just wrote. See how I didn't actually write anything? That's because I'm just vibing.
Kind of soft and wispy for me - bedroom pop; yeah, that fits.
About time we got Billie on the list.
Been listening a lot of course. 3rd best Billie album. 4.6
It’s solid but not all of it works for me. She’s kinda jacking Lady Raven on some of these tracks… gotta watch the James Cameron doc still but I’m bummed I missed it in theaters tbh
the soundtrack to my fav movie!!
I am not much of a pop fan, but this is very good. I like the strings, the somber atmosphere, and trip-hop esque elements. My only complaint is that the last hand full of songs all sound very similar. Still a very good album though. Mid 4.
Mostly quite bland stuff. 2.5 rounded down. Highlight : Birds of a Feather
I thought that Billie Eilish first album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" was a good electropop album where Billie's whispery singing was a good fit for the dark aesthetic. This album got the same singing style but the dark electropop aspect is more muted and it shifts the musical style to dreampop. It's alright in my opinion but I don't like the dream pop style. It's still better than most pop albums out there but I don't think it deserves to be on the 1001 album list considering how new the album is.
This is a great album and I had almost forgotten about it. 9/10
Not my favorite of her albums, but this was okay. Not sure why it made it on to the list.
Cringe. 2 stars. She has some catchy tunes, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan.
I listened to her debut a decent amount although it hasn't really held my interest over time if I'm being honest. I haven't checked out much since beyond just what I've heard incidentally. This was enjoyable and pleasant but also didn't leave a huge impression on me. I think part of it is just me not being the target audience to be honest and that's ok.
First half is good.
Has some exceptional tunes, but too many fillers on this album.
This works as a sapphic concept album. The actual music isn’t my favorite (in part due to its ubiquity), but it’s so cohesive that the whole is more than the parts.
Not sure I've heard any Billie Eilish, though flI had the general feeling that she would be slightly alternative to the other mainstream pop of the time, and I knew she had a huge fanbase. Given my assumptions, found this thoroughly underwhelming. Not really edgy at all, lyrically standard vagueries about love. From this I can't see what drove her huge following, must be missing something. I think I can just about tell these songs aren't written by a big team, there's a slight craft to them, but otherwise fairly dull.
I quite like listlessness, but a whole album of it is a little trying. She sings very well overall, but I wish she'd drop into her normal resonant register every now and then, she's wispy throughout and so some of the songs lose their impact. Chihiro, Birds of a Feather, and Bittersweet the standouts. Birds of a Feather is particularly tip-top. Production is genuinely amazing though - crystal clear, right emphasis at the right times, her brother is admittedly very good. He's gone to great lengths to make each song quite individual - but for me, ruined a bit by the same style of singing all the way through.
Never listened to Billy Eilish before but heard a lot of hype about her so was looking forward to this. Was left a bit disappointed tbh. Was ok, but just felt like fairly generic synth pop type stuff really. Sounded well produced. Didn't recognise any of the tracks either, which I was pretty surprised by.... Maybe I really am old... Probably worth around 2.5, but thought it would be better
birds of together we should stick a feather
First of the new batch of albums added to this list that I’ve gotten. I would’ve picked her first album, to be honest; not that it’s better as a whole than this one, but her debut is one of those albums that marked a before/after in pop music as we got into the 2020s. But whatever. God knows I’m not a professional music critic. I’m glad she’s pushing her voice more and Finneas make some genuinely interesting production choices. Still dark and personal like any of her records, but includes some unquestionable bright spots: the truly beautiful, straightforward love song “Birds of a Feather” and ode to sapphic attraction in the sticky “Lunch”. I also think “The Diner” is one of her most ambitious compositions at this point in her career. She’s yet to put out a perfect record in my mind (this one drags in some spots; I’m not a huge fan of the hit “Wildflower”, sorry), but that makes me more excited for what she does next.
Soft, breathy vocals over simple but clean production. I don't know how much this album will stick with me, but it was a decent listen.
Snoozefest ... I don't really understand the appeal myself.
I'm sure I've heard a Billie Eilish song here and there, but I've never sat down and listened to a full album of hers. I'm really glad I did, this is very good. Interestingly, I was already familiar with the song Birds of a Feather, only because I've been obsessed with the band English Teacher lately, and they did a really nice cover version of the song. I had no idea that Billie Eilish wrote it though. Will definitely listen to this again. 4 stars.
I really enjoy this album for the first few songs, but after a point I just kinda get lost in it and not in a good way. Songs just blend together and only a few standouts remain worth mentioning at the end of it. I dont feel like it leaves me anything to really chew on or sit with, but thats probably on me as I go into basically all of these albums with no context. In sure that the album has a ton of meaning if you know more about the story behind it, but as it stands, I cant bring myself to rate higher than a 3.
Definitely one of the better choices in the new edition, and certainly one of my favourites from Billie. I love her signature soft and breathy vocals, and with her brother providing such soft and atmospheric production, it's a recipe for an amazing album. I really wish that the synthpop side was explored more, some of the songs end up building to a beautiful synthpop climax, and I find this to be a really underutilised feature of this album. Each bit is more or less the same, but they are all amazing so with just a bit more diversity it could have been so much more interesting and unique.
Favorite Track: LUNCH
I don’t love it but it’s still pretty good. Plus it’s actually relevant unlike most of the albums on the new list so that’s a bonus
Y’a des bons moments, mais overall, je trippe toujours pas sur le whisper pop, dont Billie Eilish est la figure la plus emblématique
Great recent choice for the list and a record that will probably stand as Eilish's magnum opus. Add on top of that the cultural impact of the album as a whole and 'BIRDS OF A FEATHER' as a single, and you have the elements of a cornerstone album of the 2020s solo-female-lead pop phenomenon. 'LUNCH' takes the cake for me though (no pun intended) - great great track.
Very dreamy album. Maybe a bit mediocre in its whole
Not for me
This may be the first time I've listened to a Billie Eilish album, and sorry to say consider me somewhat underwhelmed. The best tracks - the upbeat - lean heavily on a softer-focused version of the eighties pop mined out by the 1975. Elsewhere there's echoes of a slightly straighter Lily Allen, and a slightly less stiff Adele. She covers the bases, and if you're 13 I can see that this is just great. I agree the production is probably the most interesting thing, which rather says it all. 2.5 but I'm feeling generous to ver youff so 3.
Rating: 9/10 Best songs: Skinny, Lunch, Chihiro, Birds of a feather, Wildflower, Blue
I am not a massive consumer of Billie Eilish’s music, or her life, but what I do know about her I love. I think she is a wonderful role model and long may that continue.
Bättre än förväntat. Föredrar de lugna låtarna. Behaglig pop. Birds of a feather och Wildflower känns bäst.
I knew only one song of hers, and every single one on this album was better than the one I knew.
Dreamy synths and sleepy vocals create a floaty euphoric feeling - pure vibes. Expressive but in an inward looking, introverted way. Slow songs that get more intense by adding layers to the arrangements and delving ever more deeply into the sad pop wallow. The true ballads with acoustic guitars are a drag though. A lot of it is pretty boring. I still don't get how she's a huge pop star with this flat affectless performance. A model of pop stardom based on hushed parasocial intimacy and relatable detachment?But, even if it's not really my thing it' does mark a nice change from bubble gum pop or RnB-based party music being the only path to this level of fame though. I guess she's like the gen z version of Adele with a singing style more worried about waking up your parents than winning a tv show? Favorites: Birds of a Feather, the diner
Not great, but better than some of the dross on the list
I absolutely love Billie. I think she has wonderful talent. Should it already be on this list? I’m not sure. But I’m selfishly very happy for it to be. I think this album is incredible with more range than people give her credit for. The build in “The Greatest” is amazing, then hit singles that actually deserve their fame like Birds of a Feather. Then there’s everything in between.
Kind of amazing how her relatively brief career has progressed/skyrocketed; from that first novelty single which was weird/stupid/fun but had all the earmarks of a one-hit wonder ... to this - I'm still not sure how to categorize this music but who cares, it's good. Honestly sometimes it's a little hard for me to dial in to her vocals and it's not necessarily her voice itself but rather the way she's mixed WAYUPFRONT and dry - often unsettling to go from something else to this. But it doesn't take long to get used to as a) she's an excellent singer and b) the music is lush and diverse. Blahblahblah this is a really good album, too many good tracks early on to consider a favourite song but my default has to be any of that great middle trio of "Birds of a Feather / Wildflower / The Greatest" (I'm not capitalizing every song like an old guy in a comment section come on). Loses a little lustre right after that; some unnecessary techno/autotune (e.g. "L'Amour De Ma Vie") after establishing a distinct sound but not nearly enough to derail it overall. 8/10 4 stars IMO: Belonged in the book? I constantly bitch to myself about someone putting anything released within the last ~5 years into some all-time pantheon, it just goes completely against the concept. This is close, tho; Billie (and Finneas, it should be a group name...) is a legitimate massive star and super influential and this album is a big step. ...hmm that's not an answer is it. I'm breaking my own stupid rule and saying Yes.
Admittedly, this was mostly background noise, but I think I liked it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
9/12(?) of the new albums added, so far, and this one is by far the best addition. I understand some of the other additions, but Songs of a Lost World, and Hit me Hard and Soft, are ones that I think can stand tall to being on the original list.
Lot of respect for Billie. For someone with a shitload of pop appeal, she pushes boundaries and seems to stay true to a certain sense of self; you don't see that much these days. I haven't given this album much attention -- prefer her debut and Happier than Ever. This one still has a good mouth feel about it, but it does lack a certain spark. The production is clean if a bit closer to the centerline of pop than her other works. LUNCH is a fun little jam. Gets a little sleepy toward the middle over WILDFLOWER and THE GREATEST. L'AMOUR DE MA VIE brings a little energy back into the mix with a Weeknd-ish driving 80s synthwave. Appreciate the waving synths on BITTERSUITE. Overall, kind of just fine. Above average for pop, but somewhere in the high 3 - low 4 territory.
Listened to this back when it came out. I remember liking LUNCH and BIRDS OF A FEATHER but don't remember much after that. LUNCH is still good. I liked the buildup of CHIHIRO. BIRDS OF A FEATHER also good. Got pretty slow and boring but L'AMOUR DE MA VIE was a fun one - honestly had to check it was the same song. This was solid just nothing I'm ever realllllly excited about. Solid high 3 though.
I’ve heard of this Billie Eilish character but hadn’t yet listened to any of the albums. The first song I was a bit concerned as it was pretty breathy and slow in a way that can start to wear on me over time. But after that the album had nice shifts in energy that made me realize what all the hubbub is about. Terrific!
i don’t actually think this is the best billie album but i love billie and finneas
nice music but not my taste, enjoyed yes
I find myself strangely drawn to this album . It feels kind of understated at first but there is a lot of interesting things going on. The vocals and production are great. It’s just lacking that extra something to get it to a 5
This sort of went in one ear and out the other, as I was listening to it while doing other things due to the PHP vulnerability that was recently discovered. That said, I did like it more than the other stuff I've heard from her. Less emo, more emotional and emotive, if that makes sense. Just less angsty, and more purposeful.
Though I do think Billy should be in the book, I'm not sure this record is the one to put her in for. I think that first one was more unique, and really did more to highlight the twist on pop that she and her brother made. This is good. Just not as quirky, which I think I liked.
3.5/5
I’m glad she’s got her spot on the list, she really is one of the biggest stars in the world. Maybe it’s just not for me, but I still didn’t feel that this album was very strong.
3 o 4
In the past I haven't really enjoyed Billie Eilish's music very much. She is obviously talented and her brother Fineas is a great producer, but I just never vibed with the subject matter or the airy, breathy vocal style all that much. That said, I don't have anything bad to say about this at all. It was well produced, written and recorded. The songs were good and there was more normal singing than i had heard from her in the past, which is good because she does have a really nice voice.
Great production and plenty to enjoy, but I found it a bit too poppy for my taste. I wanted more of the dark, atmospheric sound that Billie Eilish does so well. Enjoyable album, but didn’t quite hit the heights I was hoping for.
Alternative pop, bedroom pop. Ni fu ni fa.
Decent listen
Perfectly fine
I understand that she built her brand being the whisper singer, but goddamn she sounds so much better when she sings out.
3.5 several good cuts
Billie heeft bij het maken van die Barbie soundtrack ondekt dat ze goed is in melodisch hijgen en dat gaat ze dit album dan ook eens flink doen. Ik kan er goed naar luisteren. Een aantal nummers hebben een soort dance-achtig onderlaagje wat er voor zorgt dat het lekker voortkabbelt. Broer Finneas heeft de productie überhaupt goed op orde. De nummers waar dit onderlaagje ontbreekt vind ik wel een tikkeltje zeikerig/saai. Maar ik zal als eerste toegeven dat ik totaal de doelgroep niet ben. Ik heb weinig aandacht voor de teksten, maar af en toe hoor ik goede dingen. Bijvoorbeeld de openingstrack 'SKINNY'. Ik snap wel dat dit enorm aanslaat bij een hele generatie. En als je dan kijkt wat voor slechte shit er ook af en toe in de toplijsten staat dan valt dit nog wel mee. Ik ga dit niet vaker aanzetten, maar voor een keer vind ik dit echt prima te doen. Ik zit qua cijfer ergens tussen de 3 en de 4 denk ik. Billie zal er niet wakker van liggen als ik het op een 3 hou.
A few of the songs seemed unique to her voice, but the rest was just generic pop to me.
I just find her so bland and uninteresting and I can't stand that whisper singing thing she does.
She may be the greatest mainstream pop star right now. But it’s still mainstream pop and it’s not my style.
Eilish is a big deal in a lot of music circles, but her style doesn't do anything for me. She's got talent, she's got presence, and she's got that indefinable 'it' factor that makes her a star. I just don't jive with the music.
My favourite billie album is her debut her best is this
Fine I guess
Billie Eilish is one of those irritations in life. Becomes massively successful very early in her life. Ultra-famous, definitely one of the movers and the shakers of the late tens and the twenties. It's genuinely irksome that you go to listen to her music and realise she's actually really bloody good. Yes yes, there may be some nepo-baby or whatever, but you can't disguise the fact that her work is legitimately very good. I'd not have picked this album. It's a good album, for sure, but "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" is a better one and all the more impressive for being a debut. This is still top drawer.
I’ve listened to some of Billie Eilish’s earlier work and enjoyed it. This album expertly weaves its way across various iterations of pop music and manages to create something eclectic but cohesive.i hear influences spanning from Alicia Keys to Amy Winehouse to more contemporary bedroom and chamber pop artists. It’s a very musically literate album and was a pleasure to listen to.
It's not that this is a bad album by any means - Eilish's vocals are strong (if frustratingly soft sometimes), the production is airtight, and the instrumentals are solid for what they are. I just don't understand the lasting appeal here, though, as this album feels relatively undistinguished from its peers in recent years and doesn't bring any new ideas to the table. Maybe this is a placeholder pick to note Eilish's rise to fame since the last 1001 edition, but I'm not seeing this being a timeless listen by any means.
Consistent vibe, minimalist instrumentation that does a lot with a little. Immersive listen. Respect but don't really think this was worthy of the Muat Listen list. Better modern records out there for sure.
Hit Me Hard and Soft is a tightly constructed, zero-filler album that showcases a duo operating at peak artistic synergy. It manages to feel both deeply personal and sonically ambitious, balancing soft, fragile moments with heavy-hitting emotional and musical peaks.
Word of warning, before you get excited looking at the track list for this one, Billie has not covered the Birds of a Feather theme tune, more's the pity. Still, once you get past that disappointment, and you've listened to said theme tune (to save you a Google, it's What'll I Do by Irving Berlin) a couple of times to get over it, this is really very good indeed. She's a brilliant singer, super laid back and emotive at the same time, and it's immaculately produced. It's too poppy stylistically for me to give it truly high marks, but it's a good four from me, and a well done to Macca's favourite modern artist. Now, back to Tracy, Sharon and Doreen.
Alternative pop, bedroom pop. Ni fu ni fa.
Lycrically quite cringe at times, but I musically enjoyable.
Love the album. Her best will always be WWAFAWDWG. Second best is HTE. This gets a light 4.
was fine, hit me neither hard nor soft. 2.5
I support putting Billie Eilish on this list but deeply do not understand why it wasn't WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? - at this point her sound is established and we get a lot of tracks that sound like her prior two albums. Still an enjoyable enough listen, but everything feels a little reheated and undercooked to me.
Kommer op på 4 bare fordi det er en af de få hvor jeg kan se pointen i at inkludere den. Jeg ville nok bare have taget hendes debut
Ikke hørt før, det spiller virkelig til hendes styrker! God plade!
I ended up looking up some concert videos of this album. The performance is a big part and the album feels genuine. Really interesting artist and one that makes me feel old. I can feel the generational step but there's a confidence here that's easy to want to listen to. The Greatest is a really solid song. Good album and worth listening to. It's interesting when an artist can weave commercial and artistic without sounding like they are just selling songs.
You can hear the production value that went into creating this from the first track to the last. Great song construction. A pretty solid album with some classic pop sound and some stretching. Her voice isn't the strongest, but she makes up for it with the drama she evokes. A Fine addition to the list.
перестала понимать что это за список уже, одни альбомы 20х) этот хороший но я его совсем недавно внимательно слушала. классическая шепчущая Билли + чудесная birds of a feather
An essential listen: Eilish makes a spectacle of the relationship between the singer and the microphone. Just the range of emotional expression on this disc alone would be worth the listen. It hearkens to the best of Adele, Whitney, and Joni. It’s almost like a goth version of Laura Nyro, and for that, I’m wild.
While the vocals demonstrate talent, the reliance on deliberately simplified, conversational lyrics feels less like profound poetry and more like a choice to lower the barrier to connect to a "vibe." The tracks linger on these basic phrases for so long that the brooding, repetitive structure eventually crosses the line into tedious territory. The intimate production layering on thick the light murmurs beneath airy, whispered humming creates a powerful immediate mood. However, there is only so much whispering softness and lyrical watering-down a listener can take before the novelty fades and the obsession with mood begins to drain me of my soul. Don’t then get me started on the more dance orientated variants. Its like one of those silly voice changers with mega echo. “l’amour de ma view” sucked so bad it was the end for me. How this is one of the most decorated artists I am really at a loss to why.
Billie Eilish is a really talented singer. If she had decided to use that talent to produce literally anything other than this over-produced, autotuned, mainstream American pop, I might have something else positive to say about this album. Commercialised at the cost of all musical merit.
An album that contains tracks I still listen to regularly. This new entry prompted me to listen to her earlier albums (again) and I do think this is the strongest, so I’m happy it’s in here.
I liked some songs, the others weren't bad.
Album number three for Billie. She decides to flex a bit. I think she took some notes from Lana Dela Rey and Taylor Swift here. It's more folk and dreamy than her synth heavy debut. Vocal range cannot be faulted. The tracklist is consistent, although many songs sound similar. Although Lunch was a surprise- lustful and sapphic. Overall: 4/10
My favorite of hers, this is a beautiful album
Honestly not bad. P.s. the recent announcement of a new edition of the book, coupled with me almost being finished, means it looks like I will be ratioed to buggery with new releases for the next month or so 🙃
2.9 I've tried Billie before, my wife quite likes her. Not really my cup of tea. I can't really do the soft whispery stuff. There's one or two interesting moments in here, the ending of L'amour for example, but it comes too late on in the track that I've just about ran out of patience by that point. Lunch is an... Interesting track. Was quite digging it and then realised what the lyrics were. Hah fair play. Not offensive pop but not really doing it for me. Especially after quite enjoying (very surprisingly) Charlie XCX yesterday.
I've listened to Hit Me Hard and Soft about three times now, and it's a genuinely good album. I always had a bit of an issue with Billie Eilish's whispery vocals on her earlier work, but that's completely gone here. What Billie and her brother Finneas have put together is incredibly strong. Billie sounds like a young female crooner, and she's got the voice to pull it off. Some songs like L'Amour De Ma Vie could almost have been written for Amy Winehouse, while others are genuinely danceable without sacrificing good lyrics. There's a nice variety here, and it's thoroughly enjoyable. Not everything is quite at the same level, but the album saves its best for last. "Blue", the closing track, is so, so good, and by far my favourite thing on the record. Of the newer albums added to the list, this is one I think absolutely deserves to stick around for the next few editions. A worthy addition.
Actually not bad. Very well produced, interesting songs but too poppy for my tastes. Well worth a listen though.
Billie sings like she's scared to sing.
Ok, another pop act everyone goes crazy for. Let's see if this one actually lives up to all the love... OK. I am not the target audience for this BUT unlike some of the other pop albums I can actually see there are catchy melodies and hooks (though there is the danger of Eilish falling into that cliched hushed/vocal fry that is fucking EVERYWHERE) but it is front loaded. Do I need to hear it? Probably not, but for one of the biggest pop stars of recent times I get why it's here. Best Tracks: Lunch; Chihiro; Birds of a Feather
Have not listened to a lot of this ubiquitous artist. I liked this pretty well, she certainly has the goods in the vocal department. I feel like this suffered from a little bit of a uniform tone, rolling along without anything to shake it up. It was pleasant but easy to let drift into the background.
1. zkinny -3 2. lunch - 1 3. hiro - 2 4. birdz - 2 5. uuild - 3 6. greatezt - 1 7. vie - 1 8. dinner - 0 9. bitter - 2 10. blue - 2 11. zoft - 0
Favourite songs: Lunch, Chihiro, Birds of a Feather, Bittersuite Least favourite songs: Skinny 3/5
Billie's best work so far and one of the additions from the newest edition I would call essential. By god is it refreshing to listen to a 2020s pop album where the production doesn't sound like I'm injecting microplastics into my bloodstream through my ears. A great, more mature, artistic evolution from her previous work. I'm excited to see how she evolves her sound further if she's just 24 making stuff like this.
The first entry in the updated list that whose inclusion I think is genuinely justified. It was huge when it came out and its immense effect is still felt two years later. It's my second time listening to the record front to back, and I like it a little more this time. Eilish's vocal is still pretty weak – and yeah, I know, it takes some damn good chops to pull off those whispery vocals, but at first glance it sure doesn't sound like it. SKINNY starts exceptionally softly, almost (but not quite) boring in its aggressively balladesque delivery. I like the guitar tone – all the tones, really, barring the vocal – but I'd prefer some more punch in an opening number. Then we hit the four(!) consecutive tracks that have over a billion(!!) streams on Spotify. You can't deny an album's influence when it has such an enormous, quantifiable spread. Next, "I could eat that girl for lunch". Heh. A funny sort of "moody teenage girl" enunciation in the track LUNCH, and we hear it in quite a few tracks – though that's more an Eilish thing than a HMHAS album thing. The melody is a bit repetitive but it makes some damn good lemonade. CHIHIRO stands out mainly for its incredible bass tone. I struggle to even describe it. A mix of lo-fi, pop, and club electronica. Eilish's soprano in the chorus is pretty ridiculous, even if she slurs her words pretty badly in the verses. BIRDS OF A FEATHER is hugely popular for a reason. Incredibly catchy verses plus a synth line that resembles the one in Shape Of You, but I think I prefer the understatedness of this one a little more. My favourite singing so far has to be in WILDFLOWER, a song which also sports some sexy chords in a harmonic minor key. Intense, melancholic, emotional. I love it. The problem I had with THE GREATEST the first time I heard it was that it committed the same sin as SKINNY: it opened the side with an almost obnoxiously held-back performance. Imagine if any of the previous four tracks had opened side 1 (or 2). Imagine how much more explosive and gripping the album would sound. Think of the potential new listeners, Billie, not just your existing ones! THE GREATEST is also slightly worse than Lana Del Rey's same-titled song. (Lots of recent female solo artists have a song called "The Greatest". Mysterious.) L'AMOUR DE MA VIE is perfectly average as Eilish's material goes – with its highlight being the subtle circle-of-fifths chord progression. And the crazy transition into a 90s dance beat in the final minute. The mix in THE DINER is strange: Eilish's voice is deliberately muted and filtered so as to make it sound... well, worse. Everything else stays pretty strong, though. Something strange, sexy, and unnerving underlies the semi-upbeat nightclub feel. We get a mildly proggy track in the aptly named BITTERSUITE. My favourite part is the Kahoot-core music at around 90 seconds in. Some great melodic themes scattered through this track, and it leads nicely into the finale, BLUE. Now *this* is a mellow track that works excellently. Goosebumps, particularly in the second half. "You were born reaching for your mother's hands / Victim of your father's plans to rule the world". The soft, heartbeat-like percussion adds a lot here. Beautiful textures happening, culminating in those ethereal strings in the outro. 4/5 Key tracks: BIRDS OF A FEATHER, WILDFLOWER, BLUE
Ok Billy, I remember not really thinking this was a big deal when it came out. LUNCH is a good song. BIRDS OF A FEATHER is a little overpraised in my opinion. One of the albums of #BRATSUMMER, which everyone wanted to be a lesbian. And good for them. And good for the people who thought they were lesbians after all and tried it out. Some, as it turns out, were not actually lesbians but better people for the experience. May we all be so lucky. There are some fun turns in here, like the post chorus/bridge/outro on GREATEST. I can appreciate Billie standing more on the strength of her delicate vocal deliveries. The album to me feels more about building and resting on a delicate structure rather than her earlier stuff. There are flashes of her more BOM sound. Very much a departure from her earlier work and an artistic evolution. Not really something I am very interested in and certainly not the best album of 2024.
Not bad
Track 1: Skinny - pretty music, breathy vocals but not much of a song here Track 2: Lunch - sounds like The Gossip but way wimpier. Track 3: Chihiro - kind of went by without my noticing Track 4: Birds of a Feather - this one had to be the single off of this album. Catchy. Does it sound a bit like Sabrina Carpenter? Track 5: Wildflower - this one also faded into the background for me Track 6: The Greatest - this is what I think of as a Billie Eilish song. Breathy vocals, introspective lyrics, and minimalist hip instrumentation and production Track 7: L'amour de Ma Vie - at this point in the album I feel that I'm being tricked into hearing more music than there actually is on the recording. There's a lot of structure but not much in the way of a song. Track 8: The Diner - I got nothing for The Diner Track 9: Bittersuite - nor anything for Bittersuite Track 10: Blue - yeah, whatever it's more of the same This album is fine. Not sure how it differs from other contemporary pop records.
I was a bit skeptical about Hit Me Hard and Soft at first, I mean, this is the music my kid loves to listen to, but it really grew on me. I’m usually not big on that hushed, mumbled pop sound, but Billie absolutely proves she’s the real deal here. Finneas’s production is the star of the show, it’s crisp, spacious, and totally ambitious, shifting perfectly from quiet, bedroom-pop moments to massive dance beats. Tracks like "Birds of a Feather" and "Lunch" are instant earworms, and the way "Bittersuite" transitions into "Blue" shows she’s really out here taking risks and breaking the mold. It’s not perfect... there are a few spots where the energy dips or the songs start to sound a little samey, but even then, it’s clear she’s operating at a different level than everyone else.
Favorite Track: LUNCH
La voix murmurante de Billie Eilish m'avait jusqu'à maintenant semblé un peu trop affectée. Il faut dire que je n’avais jamais écouté un album au complet. Mais dans cette œuvre enveloppante, à la direction claire et sans faille, à l’atmosphère dense et complexe, elle me semble appropriée. Un album que je me verrais réécouter à l’occasion.
This actually surprised me a lot as I am not a fan of Billie Eilish’s earlier work
Soft och skön platta. Hon är ju ganska cool och häftig på alla sätt och vis. En stabil fyra blir betyget.
This is a really surprising record, to be honest. When I first listened to it I was delighted by how beautiful and melancholic it is. And I still am. It is surely a more mature step into Billie Eilish's discography, developing her very soft and warm way of singing into some very atmospheric yet emotional tracks, some with pretty wonderful twists. The production is also fantastic, and the variety of sounds in here also make of this album something much bolder and interesting. It is very immersive, sonically talking. And I love how she does it without being bland or insipid at any time, the songs flow very well and have some subtle changes or new layers that build a great soundscape in which to get lost.
3.5/5
I think “Bad Guy” is the only Billie song I know, and while I don’t hate it, it’s never inspired me to check out more of her music. I’m not completely sure what to expect from this album, but I’m hoping it’ll make me understand the hype! Eh, I still don’t get the hype behind Ms. Eilish. Don’t get me wrong, I think she sings really well, and I think this album is incredibly well produced, but it’s not the type of thing that interests me a whole lot. Billie’s use of space was great, but it’s not something that I personally like on a pop album. There were moments where she used synthesizers in the arrangements, like on “CHIHIRO” and “L’AMOUR DE MAVIE” that I really enjoyed, and I wish there had been more of that on this album. Billie Eilish is clearly very talented, but this album just wasn’t for me.
The really satisfying about this was that throughout the whole thing, it used synths to sound a bit evil, which is the best way to use synths. Good musical decisions, more dynamic than I might have guessed. Vocals a bit monotone or something though? Held it back some.
3.4 4x liked it better than expected. never heard any of her music
I felt like Hit Me Hard And Soft isn't really what Billie Eilish is about, or at least what she was about and that would be most relevant for this list anyway. It's too shoegazey for me, it's really well produced and crafted no doubt, I just found it a bit boring. She definitely has more 'must listen' stuff imo, I respect the work more than I liked it, high 2 or low 3.
The album opens with quite a beautiful, soft song. "SKINNY" is a powerful yet gentle song, quite the opener, ending with a beautiful violin/cello part, already dragging me in. The transition into "LUNCH" is seamless, the change in vibe not unwelcomed as we get something more upbeat in tone. I won't go into detail of every song, but so far, "SKINNY" and "WILDFLOWER" have been highlights of the album. "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" Is pretty good too but, I prefer the opener over it surprisingly enough despite it being the most known song of the album. I'd say my least favorite song of the album is "L'AMOUR DE MA VIE". I'm not a huge fan of the change of style around 2/3 into the song but, it's not bad and I could see myself enjoying this song after a few listening. Overall, it's a nice album, quite enjoyable and easy to listen to! There's no "bad" songs per say, simply ones that are better than the others... but as always, music do be subjective!
This is the first Billie Eilish I’ve really listened to. I like Lana Del Ray a lot and this kind of sounds like her but maybe not as dark. Or there’s something missing at least. Overall it was fine but didn’t knock my socks off
J'ai adoré cet album dès la sortie mais il est un peu sorti de mes rotations depuis... Mais POURQUOI??? Je partais dans l'écoute en me disant que ça allait être un bon 4 mais pas plus et en fait je me rappelais pas que cet album était si bon.. C'est juste divin l'oeuvre est super cohérente, c'est un album avec une vraie DA et une continuité. Les enchainements de sons et les transitions sont sublimes. La production est TOP tier, c'est original bref un gros banger. Et c'est un grand 5 pour moi 1) Birds of a feather 2) Blue 3) L'amour de ma vie
Je crois que c'était exceptionnel
Excellent album. There are some exceptional songs on here, especially in the first half. Billie Eilish writes intimate, confessional lyrics. And she sings them with heartbreaking vulnerability. Also wow, she can really belt too. Her vocals in the climax of “The Greatest” are stunning. The music has a distinct vibe. The album art with her falling underwater is perfect. There are a lot of low bass tones that feel like they’re echoing up from the deep. A lot of the reverb and effects also have a way of making the music sound underwater. But the production choices don’t make the music feel claustrophobic — they actually create more space. Like the ocean, these songs are big and vast. And what genre is this? Synth-pop? Indie? Some moments feel like electronica and even house. There’s even a few songs that have a little bounce to them that makes think of a waltz, or maybe polka? Or is it more bossa nova? (Take that last drum beat on “Blue,” for example. Is it bossa nova? Or is it trap? Or somehow both?) Anyway, what I think is so cool about the songwriting and production is how deeply infused these influences are into the music. She’s not just trying on a genre like a hat. She’s drawing influence from these styles and making something new and modern with them.
Tää Eilishin genre ei ihan iske. Ihan hyvä lisä kyllä listalle. 3/5
I will never forgive Billie Eilish for the cover art for her first album. If "I'm not like the other girls!" was a single image, that would be it. Very few things have put me off an artist so quickly and so thoroughly. And I freely admit that this is a stupid thing to let get in between me and my enjoyment of someone else's art. But. It gave me the ick, and I just can't shake it. That being said, "HIT ME HARD AND SOFT" is fine. The production is cool, and eclectic, borrowing tremendously from 80s and 90s pop. The songs can be interesting. Her voice is beautiful. But there is only so much whisper-singing I can take in one sitting, and she definitely crossed that line for me. The A side is probably stronger in the short run. Long-term, if I really sat down and devoured this album like a teenager (as I believe its intended) then I'm guessing the b-side would be my favorite. At least it's new? THREE STARS
Solid stuff on her fourth album. Feels like she's maturing as an artist, which is hard to do if you started as young as she did. Stevie Wonder did it. Michael Jackson did it. The Bee Gees. Lorde. Et cetera, et cetera. Good collection of songs. Some stronger than others, but all are enjoyable to listen to. A hit on here. Perhaps two. One could argue three. Maybe. Not a bad choice, but there are more fitting albums for the main list. I was happy to give this another listen. 4/5
Compelling, pretty, and haunting. It’s original pop in a cohesive package with interesting song transitions.
I think it is worth having some titles like this on here. I’ve listened to this one before and do find it a little boring. Her previous one I had enjoyed a lot more.
I haven’t heard of this artist. I haven’t heard her music either. This is a good album. There is a big soul influence. Unlike the rappers she can actually sing. Unfortunately, some songs have the dreaded drum machine. The instrumentation is sparse. There is a nice acoustic guitar on some of the songs. It is a good album except for the drum machines. This is a good album. Four stars.
Every song expressive and atmospheric. I've been sleeping on Billie too long.
A relevant album finally! Including Billie Eilish makes perfect sense, given her status in the pop scene. I never personally gave her a listen, but it matches the image I have been given of her. It’s nice, not my thing but well made and well performed.
I've heard this before and although I might hate to admit it I think it's pretty good. My significant other is a big fan of hers and plays it a bit at home. Overall I think the music is pretty good and the vocals and lyrics go really well with it. Working with her brother seems interesting and so far seems to be a great combo. Nothing on here really blows me away or anything but overall it's really good and I would not be upset if someone put it on.
I like this a lot. More than I thought I would.
This album is an interesting choice to add to the list. I think it's good, though I like When We All Fall Asleep better. This one just didn't feel like there was anything in particular for me to latch onto relative to her other albums. It's good, but I don't feel like any of these songs are ever going to be stuck in my head the way some of her earlier work did 3/5
What Billie and Finneas have created is just incredible. Nice to sit down with the full album and give it a proper shake. So many great moments on this album: Lunch, Chihiro, Birds of a Feather, L’amour de ma vie, The Diner.
Big fan. One of the most talented artists around right now imo. So intentional with everything that she does. I really like the album, but it wasn't made for me. Fave song: CHIHIRO 10/10 Rating: 8.8/10
Gear: Focalman Cleardara Artwork: 🚪🏊🔁 Production: 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🐝☯️🦋 Rating: 🪶🪶🪶🪶/5
Soft is right...
Well this is a biggie- and for a reason. I know Billie through the kids playing her to death and have followed her through a variety of styles. This is my favourite. She is special.
I thought Billie Eilish was for depressed teenagers. Apparently, middle-aged men having an identity crisis are also welcome.
Better than I would have anticipated. She seems to have jumped genres a bit. This is altpop and more AC
This should be more highly appraised
NOT first listen Hearing “Lunch” and “Birds of a Feather” before the whole thing (first heard in the summer of ‘24) kind of had me bracing for disappointment, since on the surface the former seemed like a worse version of the alt-pop sound she had become known for, and “Birds” was so sunny and light compared to her earlier stuff it was almost alarming. Yet while I still don’t love “Lunch” (the unabashedly queer lyrics and electronic outro being the best parts of it), the album steadily gets better from there, & “Birds” has grown on me massively despite the risk of overplaying from radio stations. The order of the tracks is something I appreciated more this time around. Those songs of lust and love hit harder when they’re preceded by “Skinny”, and followed by melancholy tracks like “The Greatest” and “Blue”. A rush of euphoria, followed by heartbreak I think the moment I decided this album was a keeper, that first listen, was the sudden genre switch of “L’Amour” followed immediately by “The Diner”. It came as a relief that the O’Connells are still experimenting, in the same album that contains some of the most commercially successful Eilish songs to date. The 1001 book often gives belated shoutouts to lesser albums by good artists- I don’t know anyone who would say Chemtrails is Lana Del Rey’s best album- but this is a pretty great representation of Billie’s career to date. On the trajectory she’s on, the next album will knock my socks off HL: “CHIHIRO”, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”, “WILDFLOWER”, “THE DINER”
Not as good as her first album, but the fact that a pop singer has come along with such a unique sound/voice and made it their own is to be lauded.
A few good songs, but shouldn't have been included among in a group of must-hear records
Didn’t like this album when it came out. Can’t say it’s grown on me. Too much whisper talk singing nothing as fresh or clever as her first album. Though a bit of credit to Wildflower & L’amore, they have more going on than I remembered.
Simply put this one of the best pop albums of the last 5 years with Birds of a Feather being one of the best love songs. On this album Billie Eilish stepped out from the shadow of “Bad Guy” and established herself as a pop act to be reckoned with. I love this album
Actually pretty good, I liked this a fair bit.
Billie Eilish has seemingly always known she had something to say, from “Ocean Eyes” forward. What’s so arresting about this album is hearing her realize she’s unafraid to raise her voice - literally, musically, thematically. There is at least one gem of a lyric in every song here, and usually multiples, from “people say I look happy just because I got skinny” on the opener “SKINNY” to “you were born bluer than a butterfly, beautiful and so deprived of oxygen” on the closer “BLUE.” She has a talent for speaking plainly but poetically. And her compositional choices show off her growth also; “THE GREATEST” turns into a Guns ‘n’ Roses-style power ballad midway through, while “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE” sees Eilish in snide chanteuse mode. This confidence extends to her choice of subject matter; “LUNCH” is an erotic masterpiece about the joy of pleasuring a female lover, while “THE DINER” takes Eminem’s “Stan” and makes it dangerous again, injecting a sense of gendered menace into the tale of Eilish’s own stalker. But it’s “CHIHIRO” that sums up her entire project up to this point, taking Miyazaki’s *Spirited Away* as a jumping-off point for facing down the persistent doubts that would threaten her. “I don’t know why I called, I don’t know you at all,” she confesses, and in context it feels like an exorcism; by the end of this she is done with lovers - with anyone - who won’t see her as worthy. She doesn’t care what I think but I see her as deserving everything she gets and then some.
3.5 A lot to like here, wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.
# In-Depth Review: Billie Eilish — *Hit Me Hard and Soft* **Release Date:** May 17, 2024 **Label:** Darkroom / Interscope **Producers:** Finneas O'Connell **Runtime:** 43 minutes (10 tracks) --- ## Overview Billie Eilish's third studio album arrived without any pre-released singles, a deliberate choice that signaled her intention to present it as a complete artistic statement rather than a collection of streaming-friendly moments. The title, borrowed from a Pro Tools audio effect, perfectly encapsulates the album's central tension: the push-and-pull between extremes—vulnerability and aggression, tenderness and violence, soft whispers and full-throated belts . Critics largely hailed it as her most fully realized work to date, with some comparing it favorably to Joni Mitchell's *Blue* . It earned Apple Music's Artist of the Year for 2024, making Eilish the first artist to win that honor twice . --- ## Lyrics ### Confessional Precision Eilish's songwriting on *Hit Me Hard and Soft* operates at its highest level yet. The opening track, "Skinny," immediately establishes the album's emotional stakes with lines that cut through celebrity artifice: > *"People say I look happy / Just because I got skinny / But the old me is still me and maybe the real me / And I think she's pretty"* This is Eilish at her most disarmingly direct—addressing body image, the weight of public perception, and the strange dissociation of being watched by millions. The line about the internet being "hungry for the meanest kind of funny" positions her as a reluctant feeding tube for a culture that consumes cruelty . ### Queer Desire and Carnal Honesty "Lunch" marked a significant moment in Eilish's public exploration of her sexuality. The lyrics are playful yet unabashedly explicit: > *"I could eat that girl for lunch / Yeah, she dances on my tongue / Tastes like she might be the one"* What elevates this beyond shock value is the specificity of the domestic imagery—"pulling up a chair" and "putting up my hair" before the encounter . It's desire rendered with the intimacy of lived experience rather than performance. ### The Stalker's Perspective "The Diner" showcases Eilish's enduring fascination with the macabre, this time from the perspective of an obsessive: > *"I came in through the kitchen lookin' for something to eat / I left a calling card so they would know that it was me"* Given that Eilish herself has dealt with real stalkers, the song carries an unsettling meta-textual weight—she knows this territory intimately . ### Filler and Rhyme Scheme Criticisms Not all lyrics receive universal praise. The Atlantic noted Eilish's "unfortunate tendency toward simplistic, even childish, rhyme schemes," citing lines like "good things don't last / And life moves so fast" as examples of pure filler . This remains a legitimate critique of her writing—moments where accessibility tips into predictability. --- ## Music & Production ### Finneas's Evolving Soundscape The sibling production partnership reaches new heights here. Finneas's arrangements are described as "going above merely supporting his sister's vocal," with the rapidly plucked bassline on "Birds of a Feather" serving as a "secret weapon" . The production values signal a shift toward more organic textures—acoustic guitars, live drums, and the Attacca Quartet's strings feature prominently, marking a departure from the heavier electronic palette of *When We All Fall Asleep* . ### Structural Adventurousness Eilish and Finneas have long favored multi-part song structures, and *Hit Me Hard and Soft* doubles down on this approach. "L'Amour de Ma Vie" begins as a "beatific and nonchalant" ballad before pivoting into Auto-Tune-drenched electro-pop, the shift betraying the narrator's breezy callousness as a cover for a "gaping wound" . "Bittersuite" slips between "lilting reggae, phasing synth clouds and chintzy bossa nova" . These sudden left turns keep listeners perpetually off-balance, mirroring the album's emotional volatility. ### The "Hard" vs. "Soft" Dynamic The album's title isn't just thematic—it's a production philosophy. The Atlantic describes the ballads as rustling "with feather-on-skin subtlety," while the uptempo tracks are "appealingly minimalistic, enlivened by small, surprising choices" . On "Chihiro," warning-siren keyboards push in at odd moments and vanish, creating a "shimmering haze" of obsession . ### Vocal Range Expansion Perhaps the most striking musical development is Eilish's vocal performance. Long criticized (or celebrated) for her whisper-singing, she "belts here in a way we've never heard from her before" . "The Greatest" reaches an arena-rock climax that recalls the title track of *Happier Than Ever*, while "Birds of a Feather" delivers what might be the most optimistic vocal performance in her catalog . --- ## Themes ### Fame as a Cage Eilish returns repeatedly to the metaphor of the caged bird—she's "a bird in a cage in Skinny," and the imagery recurs throughout . The album grapples with the paradox of having achieved everything one could want while feeling trapped by the very mechanisms of that achievement. "Skinny" asks whether she's already past her peak, while the closer "Blue" ends with a disembodied voice asking, "When can I hear the next one?"—a meta-commentary on the insatiable demands of her audience . ### Queer Identity and Sexual Awakening Eilish has spoken about realizing her attraction to women later than she might have expected: "I've been in love with girls for my whole life," she told *Rolling Stone*, "but it wasn't until last year that I realized, in anatomical terms, what exactly that desire meant" . "Lunch" and "Bittersuite" explore this newly articulated desire with a mix of boldness and confusion that feels authentically of its moment . ### The Messiness of Love Culpability in relationships—the impossibility of identifying a clear villain—runs through the album. As *The Guardian* notes, this "murky" theme of "sometimes anguished, sometimes vindictive, always satisfyingly messy and candid" relationships distinguishes the record from simpler breakup narratives . "Wildflower" asks whether it's crossing a line to pursue someone you're helping another person get over, while "The Greatest" wails about "all the times I waited / for you to want me naked" . ### Erotic Dissonance *The Atlantic* offers the most incisive thematic reading: the album captures a generation's "erotic dissonance"—"desiring and doing have never been so separate" . Record numbers of young people identify as queer, yet statistically they're having less sex than previous generations. Eilish's songs about wanting but not quite getting, about crushing on unavailable people, and about soaking in isolation speak to this particular contemporary condition . --- ## Influence & Cultural Context ### The "Album-Ass Album" Statement Eilish described *Hit Me Hard and Soft* as an "album-ass album"—meant to be consumed as a complete work . In an era dominated by playlist culture and TikTok-driven singles, this is a deliberate stance. The absence of pre-release singles was a commercial risk that paid off: the album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with over 340,000 copies sold, Eilish's best weekly sales figure at that point . ### Position Within Pop's 2024 Landscape The album arrived at the tail end of what was dubbed "pop girl spring," alongside major releases from Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Dua Lipa . Critics noted thematic kinship between *Hit Me Hard and Soft* and Swift's *The Tortured Poets Department*—both albums filled with "claustrophobic synth pop about stymied lust" . However, Eilish's approach is more insular and less narratively expansive than Swift's, favoring intimate vignettes over sweeping autobiography. ### The Finneas Partnership Question Three albums in, critics have begun asking whether Eilish should work with a different producer. *CBC*'s roundtable discussion concluded that the partnership remains vital precisely because it provides "a safety in this partnership that helps them both get to an interesting place creatively" . The album's sonic expansions—strings, live drums, more organic textures—suggest the collaboration continues to evolve rather than calcify. ### Commercial and Critical Trajectory The album solidified Eilish's position as a generational artist. She performed "Birds of a Feather" at the Olympics closing ceremony, collaborated with Charli XCX on "Guess" (one of the summer's biggest songs), and hosted Madonna at a New York tour stop . The tour extended well into 2025, and the album's commercial performance demonstrated that her audience will follow her into more experimental territory. --- ## Pros and Cons ### Pros **1. Fearless Genre-Bending** The album refuses to stay in one lane. From the disco-inflected "Lunch" to the trip-hop detour in "Blue," Eilish and Finneas demonstrate a restlessness that keeps the 43-minute runtime feeling brisk . **2. Vocal Evolution** Eilish has never sounded this confident or rangy. Her ability to shift from breathy intimacy to arena-rock belting within a single song ("The Greatest") showcases a technical and emotional maturity that earlier albums only hinted at . **3. Thematic Cohesion** Despite the sonic variety, the album feels unified. Fame, desire, culpability, and the impossibility of clean resolutions recur throughout, creating a "world unto itself" . **4. Production Innovation** Finneas's arrangements continue to stand apart from mainstream pop. The addition of strings and live drums without sacrificing the duo's signature textural weirdness represents a genuine step forward . **5. The "Album" Experience** In an era of algorithmic listening, *Hit Me Hard and Soft* rewards front-to-back engagement. The sequencing, transitions, and self-referential lyrical callbacks (particularly in "Blue") create a cohesive artistic statement . ### Cons **1. Some Lyrics Lack Complexity** The Atlantic's critique of "simplistic, even childish, rhyme schemes" is fair. At times, Eilish's desire for accessibility leads to lines that feel beneath her capabilities . **2. The "Hard" Could Hit Harder** Several critics noted that the album's more subdued moments sometimes pull back from the edges it approaches. *The Guardian* observed that the dancefloor-oriented sections "end too soon," leaving tantalizing horizons unexplored . *Slant* similarly suggested the album "wants to make a virtue of its subtlety," but "it would have been fun to hear this album's 'hard' edit" . **3. Pacing in the Second Half** While the album's brevity is generally a strength, some listeners found the middle stretch—particularly "Bittersuite"—to drag. *Clash* noted that "some tracks could be more editorially precise" and that "at times the runtime doesn't feel warranted" . **4. Accessibility vs. Edge** There's a tension between the album's desire to be more "pop" than its predecessors and its retention of Eilish's outsider sensibility. As one critic put it, "having grown in ambition and sanded down some rough edges, the music is easier to swallow, which risks one missing some of the richness (and edginess) of flavour" . **5. For Non-Believers, Little Conversion** *Renowned for Sound* observed that the album "is not for the non-believers" . Those who have never connected with Eilish's aesthetic—the whisper-singing, the macabre undertones, the insularity—are unlikely to find a new entry point here. --- ## Final Verdict *Hit Me Hard and Soft* represents Billie Eilish's most complete artistic statement to date. It synthesizes the horror-pop of her debut, the balladic sophistication of *Happier Than Ever*, and the cinematic scope of her Oscar-winning soundtrack work into something that feels distinctly, confidently hers. The album's willingness to foreground queerness, to interrogate fame without self-pity, and to experiment with structure while maintaining pop accessibility places it among the most significant mainstream releases of 2024. Its flaws—occasional lyrical simplicity, a few moments that pull back from their most interesting impulses—are the flaws of an artist still growing, still figuring out how hard she wants to hit and how soft she wants to land. At 22, Eilish has already produced a trilogy of albums that map a coming-of-age in real time. *Hit Me Hard and Soft* suggests the next chapter will be worth waiting for—even if, as the album's closing voice reminds us, the audience will never be fully satisfied.
My first of the 2026 edition albums! It's nice to be back on the main list again, if only for a couple of weeks. This is my first listen of Billie Eilish. I know of her through cultural osmosis but never listened to any of her music. I'll be honest, I really expected to hear some straightforward pop music but there's a lot more going on here, including elements of post punk, shoegaze, electronic and orchestral music. It feels less like a dance floor and more like a closed bedroom when you just need to hide from the world for a while. I sat with this album for a bit and I should probably revisit it sometime.
I finished the project with 1089 half a year ago and when I'm logged in yesterday I saw that I have new albums waiting for me to listen. Nice. Anyway, I didn't expect much from Billie's album as I was only familiar with the song he burst into the music business years ago. This album surprised me in a good way - I like it quite a bit, the moody, atmospheric sounds of it. Strong 3 stars at first listen.
Glad it cut it out with the whispers after the first little bit, but it's still just brutally slow pop ballads all day
birds of a feather carried
#478 I’ve liked the little bits I’ve heard of Billie Eilish before but never listened to any albums so I was intrigued. I really enjoyed the production on this and her songwriting is generally very good, although there were a couple of songs in the middle of the album that I was a bit disengaged by and thought the album was beginning to drift somewhat, however, the last couple of songs were among the strongest on the album. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ✅ Listen before you die? ✅ Fave track(s): LUNCH; BITTERSUITE; BLUE Rating: 7/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very solid. Didn't know what to expect. Never really listened to her music before. Hear about her so much these days. May be a little too pop for me. But I did like it. The production was good. Her voice is incredible. Solid album.
Blind album, was never a huge fan of her music and this album did not change my mind. 2.
Not bad at all, but this is not the album that people will remember her for. Yet it's her only album in the book. Odd choice.
Much better than I was expecting - still drifty over sounds but a nice listen.
Not the genre of music I listen to, but it's just so good.
this type of vocals doesn't really hit me sadly.
Thank god we republished the book with this in there. But what if people missed it? Oh no? The horror! If they didn't hear this before they passed on? Oh god! 3 stars.
I'm not the world's biggest BE fan but I think this album is really good! Great compositions. I love how sexy "Lunch" is. Just a good album and, while we don't have the test of time, I do think it's worthy of being on this official list at least for now.
For as strange as Billie Eilish comes across in her public persona, I wish that would be reflected more in her music.
Lækker lyd og gode melodier, men jeg mangler steder, hvor der kommer saft og kraft i musikken. Vi kører på mellow hele vejen.