On May 17th, Billie Eilish released her third studio album entitled HIT ME HARD AND SOFT—and it may be her best yet. This ten-song album is a masterful recounting of Billie’s experience with love, heartbreak, body insecurity, and her growth and healing, among many other themes.

This album, like her debut album WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? and her second album Happier Than Ever, was co-written and produced by Billie’s older brother Finneas O’Connell. The duo have proven time and time again that they create their best work together, and this album proves just that. There’s a level of cohesion—both sonic and thematic—that makes the album feel like a unified experience, a single lengthy song that describes Billie’s movements into adulthood and her struggles with love.

I listened to the album for the first time with my brother the day it came out (keep in mind I went into it knowing almost nothing about the album) and I was astonished! This album secures all the emotions from the beginning—the first track, “SKINNY” is a candid ballad on body image and existential questions but immediately following that is “LUNCH” an unruly song about the thrill of loving someone. The album lives up to its name, constantly shifting from upbeat, catchy rhythms to slower, more melancholy melodies and then back again, sometimes even within a single track.

There are songs on the album to suit every mood and occasion. “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” is a sweet love song that seems coming-of-age while also being a perfect wedding song. Then, on the opposite side of the spectrum, there’s a song like “CHIHIRO,” mesmerizing and ethereal. It’s almost more than a song, a sonic landscape, an entire journey in only five minutes. (Can you tell it’s one of our favorites?)

This album has not only been a whirlwind of fun for listeners at home but for Billie herself as well. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Billie explained how a lot of the fun associated with making music went away when it turned into a job for her, something she was required to do. With HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, however, which she worked on at her own pace with Finneas, she realized, “This is my passion in life, and I love doing this so much. And also I’m really good at it, apparently.”

Not apparently. She is really good at this. If her talent isn’t evident by her worldwide fame and enormous fan base, then it is by the large number of accolades she has earned for her work. So far in her career, she has received 25 Grammy Award nominations and 9 wins. At only 22, Billie is also the youngest person to have received two Oscars, both for the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards.

This album didn’t just make music fun again for Billie, it was more generally a way for her to be her true self, and to reveal that new side of herself to the world. In that same interview with Zane Lowe, she described her previous album, Happier Than Ever, as an “identity crisis album.” That album was filled with the raw emotion of her life at the time and the confusion of figuring out who she was (it came out in 2021 so she was around 19 years old). With this album now, Billie focuses more on her trials and tribulations with love, in addition to being open about her sexuality in her music for the first time. She said herself that compared to previous albums, she was less worried about how her work would be perceived, “I don’t know if I’m making anything good… but I’m comfortable in who I am now, and I feel like I know who I am now.” This confidence is reflected throughout the album, providing not only a window into Billie’s life, but inspiration for listeners to embrace their own authenticity as well. 

There is no one genre that can describe this album—as well as the entirety of Billie’s discography—but it seems to be a combination of synth-pop, alternative rock, electronic music, and a bit of indie. This diverse style makes Billie’s music uniquely hers and provides her one of the most distinctive voices in the music industry right now. 

With that, Billie continues to push boundaries and explore new depths of self-expression in her music, making her a global music sensation. This album, aside from being filled with incredibly catchy and introspective lyrics, takes listeners on a journey where they can feel heartbroken, cry, be uplifted, and scream-sing all in 43 minutes. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is a sure testament to her capabilities as a singer and songwriter, and with a huge career lying ahead of her, I can’t wait to see how else she will impress us in the future.