Finneas has hit out at Pitchfork over its review of Billie Eiliish’s new album ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’.
Eilish’s brother and frequent collaborator co-wrote the follow-to 2021’s ‘Happier Than Ever’, and is credited as the record’s sole producer.
READ MORE: Billie Eilish – ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ review: bold, brilliant and somewhat brighter
Eilish’s third studio effort earned a four-star review from NME, who praised the project for being “bold” and “confident in its execution”. “In trying to write an album for herself, she’s made one that will resonate harder than anything she’s done before,” it concluded.
Pitchfork was less favourable, however – awarding ‘Hit Me…’ 6.8 out of 10 (Eilish’s first two albums earned scores of 7.2 and 7.6, respectively).
The publication wrote: “Every song on this big album has some detail worth hearing, but the insistence on multipart epics and ballads kills the momentum […] The much-hyped live instrumentation is more window dressing than it is integral to the artistry, and Jon Castelli’s brightly saturated mix leaves the extraneous elements to fight for space in the more crowded sections.
“All these enhancements cancel each other out until ‘HMHAS’ is just another good record from Billie and Finneas – certainly tasteful, and arresting sometimes, but all the session musicians in the world can’t make it a masterpiece.”
Finneas has since responded to the review while replying to a fan on TikTok.
“Nothing cool about writing a positive review of an album everyone likes – they’ve gotta have an angle,” he wrote.
“They gave [Lana Del Rey’s debut album] ‘Born To Die’ a 5.5 – it’s their whole hater-ass bag.” Check out the screenshot below.
Finneas slams pitchfork for their review of Billie’s Hit me hard and their rage bait reviews ethics generally
“nothing cool about writing a positive review of an album everybody likes- they’ve gotta have an angle. they gave born to die a 5.5- it’s their whole hater- ass bag” pic.twitter.com/vA2jBvNmS3
— Billie Eilish Society (@BillieSociety) May 26, 2024
Eilish recently said that ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ was “the most genuine thing” she’s ever made. “It feels very, very me and it feels like all of the music is exactly who I am,” she explained.
The star went on to say that she felt somewhat pigeonholed after the huge success of her 2019 debut album, ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’. She added that she overcompensated on ‘Happier Than Ever’ as a result.
Elsewhere, Eilish and Finneas said they had “never ever, ever loved something more” than their latest LP.
Finneas said that ‘Hit Me…’ was “my favourite thing I’ve ever been a part of making”, adding: “There were so many times during the making of it that I thought we’d never finish it or had no idea what we were doing I lost count – just goes to show – when you’re in it, you might just have to try to keep swimming- you can only really see the ocean once you’re on the shore.
“I’m going offline now because what you all think of this album is your business, not mine but I really do hope you like it – we make everything with you in mind and we owe it all to you – thanks for the sick job/life. We’re so lucky”
Eilsh’s ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’ world tour is scheduled to begin this autumn. The UK and Ireland leg will take place in July 2025, and includes six nights at The O2 in London. Find any remaining tickets here (UK/Ireland) and here (North America).
Looking ahead to the upcoming dates, Eilish said she won’t be doing a three-hour-long set. “That’s literally psychotic,” she reasoned.
The post Finneas hits out at Pitchfork’s review of new Billie Eilish album: “It’s their whole hater-ass bag” appeared first on NME.
