Rising phenomenon Billie Eilish has now released her impressive and amazing third album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. Many say her first album was hard to beat, making her second album disappointing. Billie has outdone herself, hitting the listeners with a soul-stirring and captivating album released in May this year.
What makes Billie so unique from the rest is her process of making music. The only other collaborator she works with on her albums is her brother FINNEAS. Their process is so raw and unusual that the music becomes more like art. They start with sitting in their childhood home where their parents still live and talking about Billie’s emotions and experiences. They discuss all the emotions she has felt recently and they translate it to a piano to start. There is no team of people all writing and discussing ideas, just them two, a piano and a mic.
Billie and FINNEAS state in an Apple Music interview that the start of making HIT ME HARD AND SOFT was brutal and not fun. There was a lack of confidence and a loss of creativity in how to create something bigger and better. This was eye-opening for Billie and she used this as an opportunity to dig deep and say some of the things she’s never said before.
Starting with the first track on the album. SKINNY is the most beautiful track on the album to listen to. It has a soft melody with electric guitar and violins and gut-wrenching lyrics. Billie discusses the talk about her new body and weight loss. Her fashion shifted dramatically after the transformation and the media portrays her as more confident and beautiful. Billie sings, “But the old me is still me and maybe the real me/ And I think she’s pretty”.
I believe this song is crucial for the masses to listen to because it discusses how nasty the media is. The unrealistic image women have to live up to is exhausting and even if you are skinny, you may not be truly happy. I love how she gave the audience a glimmer of her experience in fame.
Billie’s fourth song on the album BIRDS OF A FEATHER is her #1 song with over 974 million downloads. This is the best song she has choreographed hands down. It’s so different from what she has normally done in the past. It’s super joyful, and uplifting and it almost makes you feel like you’re floating in love.
What’s funny about this song is that it was created in a short amount of time and written fast. The song discusses the themes of relationships, friendships, and love. She and FINNEAS worked on the song in the back of a car and redid the song about a million times until they could figure out what was wrong with it. In the bridge Billie belts, “I don’t think I could love you more/ It might not be long, but baby I/ I’ll love you ‘til the day that I die”.
The song is filled with so much passion and joy. It makes me wanna shout it on the rooftops with my girl best friends while dancing. It makes you understand how much love you have for the people around you and that’s what makes her music so special. Her art moves people.
The track with the most talent and thought process is CHIHIRO. Billie decided to make this not only a song but a cinematic experience for the audience with the music video she produced. CHIHIRO is based on the Japanese film “Spirited Away”. When speaking to Rollingstone she says, “The song is loosely based off of that movie, which is one of my favorites. It’s kind of from her point of view, mixed with mine. The visuals in that movie are some of the best ever — all that Studio Ghibli shit is unbelievable.”
The song is about feeling lost and trapped. Billie sings “Wringing my hands in my lap/ And they tell me it’s all been a trap”. The climax and ending of the song have a repeating beat sounding like a siren while the loudness increases with her screaming echo, “I don’t know you at all”, repeatedly and repeatedly. It sounds like a horror movie but so safe at the same time. The music video has her running in a field of grass while being chased by a man. When he finally catches up to her he tackles her, taking her to the floor. While fighting they almost seem like they are in love and enjoying the moment. You can’t tell if they are play-fighting or actually fighting.
The song leaves you with so much confusion and anger. I have never heard anything like it. The musicality is electric and distinct. When listening to the song you feel so much sensation and panic.
There are so many other tracks to discuss on this breathtaking album. Billie and her brother FINNEAS deserve all the recognition and awards they receive because what makes them so drastically different is the depth and authenticity that goes into their art. Billie Eilish will go down in history as a one-of-a-kind artist. No one has yet to make music like hers.