Billie Eilish Hits Us Hard With Hit Me Hard and Soft

Billie Eilish’s close friends on Instagram (ie: everybody) were blessed with her new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. Eilish announced the album in April, but denied the people any singles ahead of release. “i wanna give it to you all at once :PPP” she wrote on IG. There also won’t be any bonus tracks or cover variants, because Billie is a green queen who knows the most important of the three R’s is “reduce.” The album is a short and sweet 45 minutes, including a back half of almost symphonic suite-esque tracks. Each of the last three songs have movements that take listeners on a journey. A journey to what, though? Self-discovery? Self-love? The Studio Ghibli theme park? The answer to each of those needless rhetorical questions is “Yes.” The album features lyrics about the mortality of loved ones (“Birds of a Feather”), cunnilingus (“Lunch”) and passing references to Spirited Away (“Chihiro”). Eilish has been on a tear recently, with her and brother Finneas’ contribution to the Barbie soundtrack making her the youngest person to win two Oscars. Finneas is the second-youngest, which is nice.