Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft

[Ivy Leegue™]

It's weird to me because the switch-ups are what most (sane) reviewers raved about. I really need to spend a lot of time with this album this week. Wayyy too many major albums have dropped. I feel like TTPD already feels old and that album is...what, like a month old? LOL.

[Ling-Ling]

As someone who railed against her first two albums (and especially her vocals), I went back and gave them another try and NOPE. It really is the mixing and vocal production for me. Her vocals were consistently pushed all the way forward on so many songs, like the vocal equivalent of her chewing food directly into my ear. She's an artist I've always been mystified by because I legit could not stomach her vocals. This is the first album where she feels properly placed in the mix. It also doesn't hurt that this is the fullest production she's ever had, her vocals finally have something to nestle into. Finneas has a penchant for being far too stripped back a lot of the time.

Maybe it's just me, but this album is night and day musically and vocally compared to her previous work. And kind of a revelation tbh, like I'm finally hearing the artist everyone's been raving about this whole time. Mystified how any critic could call this more of the same.

[Choco]

I still love the vibes of her first full album way more but yeah I agree this is the more polished and better produced effort.

I never quite got HTE the album; it still sounds all over the place.

[HEADOFTHEPACK]

May 21, 2024 11:51:21 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

It's weird to me because the switch-ups are what most (sane) reviewers raved about. I really need to spend a lot of time with this album this week. Wayyy too many major albums have dropped. I feel like TTPD already feels old and that album is...what, like a month old? LOL.

Seriously, FAR too many. Finding it hard to spend time with an album because before you know it, there's another one!

[SHOOTER]

Projection has been upped to 300k SPS (157k sales) which puts her at a lock for #2. Taylor's at #1 with 350k SPS (185k sales) thanks to a convenient drop of three new digital versions (for $5.99). #GirlsGirl

[bigb0882]

Played the beginning of this album while I was getting dinner ready and I really really liked it. This will definitely be what I am zoning out to while on my flight in a month. Great, so far!

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

Maybe it's my current mood that matches the vibe of the album, but this might be my 2nd favorite album of the decade so far (after After Hours). It's all I've been listening to since Friday, and I can't remember the last time that happened.

It's really hard to rank them rn, but the highlights for me:

LUNCH, CHIHIRO, BIRDS OF A FEATHER, THE GREATEST, L'AMOUR DE MA VIE, THE DINER and BLUE.

[munx 🐒🎯]

🔥

[👑 Eloquent ™]

The chorus of "BLUE" has been stuck in my head the last two days. So good.

[Ryan]

[munx 🐒🎯]

[G-Reg]

May 21, 2024 15:17:58 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Maybe it's just me, but this album is night and day musically and vocally compared to her previous work.

This is what I said on the last page but multiple people said there were no big changes. Glad I'm not completely crazy.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

May 22, 2024 9:09:17 GMT -5 👑 Eloquent ™ said:

The chorus of "BLUE" has been stuck in my head the last two days. So good.

If you mean the first part of it, it's the song called True Blue, her really old song that got scrapped from her first two albums (not 100% sure, but yeah), and finally made it on this one. I was so happy when I heard it, although it's slightly different from the original version.

this was the first? performance of the song, 7 years ago:

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Yeah I did mean the intro specifically which screams a hell of a catchy chorus to me so now I know why! I love the entire song tho! This album has so many damn gems! "Birds Of A Feather" is one of the best songs she's done IMO.

[Ivy Leegue™]

This is now my official Album of the Year. It gets better the more I listen to it and, even though I have been a fan since her debut album (and I like her EP before it), this is her masterpiece. If she has nowhere to go but up from here, then we are in for a wild ride. She also makes it look so easy, especially when performing. She just has that level of God-given talent.

[SHOOTER]

Billie better fight back!

[Peterawr]

Still coming back to this album and several songs made it into my own personal playlists which doesn’t happen often anymore.

I actually don’t mind the mix ups at the end of the songs - it’s a kind of quirky artistic choice that really suits her, her brand, and her sound.

The whisper vocals I think should be here to stay, and find a handful of opportunities per record to use her real voice because it really makes those moments stand out (and give that reminder that this girl can SING)

So far this is my album of the year.

[thezatch]

What in the world are all these videos that were uploaded this week with just Billie and Finneas vibing in an arena? Was it from the listening parties?

[Hefty Hanna]

I’ve listened twice already and Billie is 3/3 for me. She has NEVER sounded better vocally - some of her vocals are gorgeous on some of these songs.

I don’t think I love it as much as I did HTE upon first listen, but you can see she’s continuing the grow as an artist and the songs are all quality. It’s her most consistent album.

‘CHIHIRO’ and ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ are my two favourites.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

This album is so, so, so damn good. Like undoubtedly Billie's best work and an absolute contender (and if not deserved winner) for AOTY. Her and her brother really mastered her unique style, brought the best aspects of her vocals, and whittled down the tracklist to an absolute perfect sonic expression of Billie's artistry. The emotion, the cadence, the beat drops and switch ups. It's literally perfect from start to finish: her magnum opus. It's on Melodrama's level. It's that damn good. And her 3rd effort? Who would have expected?

[Mayman]

Been sitting with the album all week and I agree with the sentiment here, it's fantastic. Start to finish. Some of the songs do not even feel 5 minutes long. I'm glad she's utiziling her voice in different ways this album as well as trying different sounds. "Chihiro" is far and away the best song, so catchy and incredible production. I feel like that's going to go down as one of her classic album tracks. "Birds of a Feather" is just simply beautiful. There's definitely potential with that one to be another hit for her. "The Greatest" is exceptional and I think the bridge is one of her best yet. One more track I want to shoutout is "L'Amour De Ma Vie." The "Over Now" half as well as the actual extended version is something I never saw her doing but it works so well. The first half of the track is really good too and wish there was a version with both that and the extended Over Now edit. Together I think it reminds me a lot of Lana's "A&W."

Overall like I said, this album is just so good. No middling tracks whatsoever. I need to start listening to tracks individually because for the most part I've been listening to the album start to finish. I think if I can give each track some time by itself so I can really dive into each one, I'll appreciate it even more.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

May 23, 2024 9:32:47 GMT -5 Hefty Hanna said:

‘CHIHIRO’ and ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ are my two favourites.

I feel like it’s a cliche to say now but these are my two favourites too - so much so that I can’t really pay attention to the rest of the album because these two are sticking out so much. CHIHIRO is such a vibe!

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

LUNCH -> CHIHIRO -> BIRDS OF A FEATHER run is one of the best of all time.

[Mike]

[andrebra]

Yeah, this has cemented itself as one of the best albums I have ever heard. Every day I find something new to obsess over. Currently it’s the final three tracks, just genius GENIUS production. I loved her earlier work but this honestly puts everything that came before it to shame and the fact that she is only 22 makes me very excited for her career.

[munx 🐒🎯]

May 26, 2024 16:05:01 GMT -5 Mike said:

Great numbers! :)

[Caviar]

Easily best album of the year

[surfy]

AOTY contender alongside Ari for me at the moment. Not a single skip on this album, the production and the blend of different influences while still being a logical next step in her discography is an amazing feat! Her and her brother are really hitting their stride in all aspects on this album for me! Right now my favorite is WILDFLOWER, but i would write in the extended OVER NOW edit for LA’MOUR DE MA VIE as my favorite song Billie has ever released!! just insanely good, and her albums have only gotten better with each release for me!

[PGriffin]

Seems like this release strategy paid off, and with Lunch growing this will have some legs! Any guesses on what the next single should be? My vote goes to Birds of a Feather.

[Caviar]

Yes, "Birds of a Feather" is the obvious next single.