I meant to do this review days ago but I lost track of time. Anyway, today I'll be reviewing Hilary Duff's new album, "Breathe In. Breathe Out.". Hilary had taken a long break from recording music before the album was released. In fact the album is Hilary's first album since her last album, "Dignity" was released 8 years (if count "Best of Hilary Duff" than it's been 7 years). Either way it's a relief to finally hear new music from her. For this review I'll be reviewing the standard, the deluxe, and the fanjoy editions of the album and I'll be giving each edition a different score so without further adieu, here's my track by track review:
1) Sparks: This song was initially the third single from the album but when the first two singles weren't included on the standard edition, it became the first single from the album. The song is very catchy, is fun to dance to, and will hopefully become a hit on radio. I didn't really like the video, not because it showed her on her Tinder dates, but because her hair color made her look strange. The song overall is great and a perfect way to start the album off. 10/10
2) My Kind: When I first heard this song, I thought it sounded a little bit like "Taylor Swift's" song, "Style". The song is very catchy and another really great song. 10/10
3) One In a Million: This song sounds like something "Tove Lo" would release, which funny because she co-wrote this song. The song is a mid-tempo ballad and it instantly became one of my favorites on the album. 10/10
4) Confetti: The first few seconds of the song sounded very similar to "Girls Aloud's" single, "Untouchable". That being said, this song is an amazing pop/party song that should be released as the second single. I love the "Heaven is a Place on Earth" sample, it just makes a song perfect. 10/10
5) Breathe In. Breathe Out.: From a happy upbeat song to a dark mid-tempo ballad. The song is the title track and it talks about how a relationship that has recently ended and even though you feel sad, you know you'll be okay. I hope this song will become a single. 10/10
6) Lies: Continuing with a dark vibe, "Lies" is about how Hilary is fed up with her partner's constant b.s. and lies. It's my favorite song on the album and also one of the songs that Hilary co-wrote, which many explain why you can feel the anger in her voice a little bit on this song. It is still a brilliant song with a catchy hook. It needs to be a single too. 10/10
7) Arms Around a Memory: A sad dance-ballad that was written by "Matthew Koma", who also co-wrote the title track and "Confetti" for this album. The song is about reminiscing about an ex that you still miss. I love the song but I wish it was a little longer. 10/10
8) Stay in Love: Like "One In a Million" and "Sparks", this song was co-written by "To-Love". The song is an upbeat pop song where Hilary is questioning how people stay in love with someone when it feels so hard with all the work it comes with. Again another terrific song. 10/10
9) Brave Heart: After 8 pop/dance songs, the album switches to a folk-pop sound that Hilary initially started with (I'll get to that part later). The song is about how being out of a relationship and although you're a little scared of being alone, you'll be okay because you're strong. The song took a couple of listens before I started to like it. 9/10
10) Tattoo: When Hilary was working on a folk-pop album, this song was one of the songs that was almost the first single from the album. While the folk-pop was somewhat scrapped, this song was put on this album. The song was co-written by "Ed Sheeran" who provides background vocals on this song. Like "Brave Heart", this song took a couple of listens before I started to like it. 9/10
11) Picture This: Before the album was released, I noticed on most of the forums that people felt this song was the weakest song on the album. I didn't want to believe that and when I first heard the whole album I was sad that I have to agree. The lyrics are great but the overall song is weak compared to the other songs on the album. It has grown on me a little bit though. 6/10
12) Night Like This (featuring Kendall Schmidt): This is the last song on the standard edition of the album. The song features "Kendall Schmidt" from "Big Time Rush" and "Heffron Drive". I don't listen to either band so I had no idea what to expect with this song. Thankfully the song is amazing. Kendall and Hilary's vocals work perfectly on this amazing song. 10/10
These next two tracks are on the deluxe version of the album:
13) Belong: This song has a folk-pop sound to it like the last 4 songs on the standard edition of the album. To me, song kinda feels like combination "fun.'s" "Some Nights" and "Taylor Swift's" "New Romantics". It's a pretty good song. 9/10
14) Rebel Hearts: I was really excited about this song because it was co-written by "Kara DioGuardi", who co-wrote a majority of Hilary's last album "Dignity" with Hilary. The song blends both folk-pop with dance-pop and sounds very similar to Avicii's "Wake Me Up". Still an amazing song that should've been on the standard edition. 10/10
These next four tracks are available if you bought the fanjoy edition of the album:
1) Chasing the Sun: This song was initially the first single from the album but it didn't make the standard edition of the album. I was kinda glad it didn't make the standard edition because I feel it's a boring song. "Colbie Calliat" co-wrote this song and I think that the song would've sounded better if Colbie sang instead of Hilary. I'm not saying Hilary's voice is bad because she has a great voice, I just feel this song is suited more for Colbie than Hilary. 4/10
2) All About You: The song was initially the second single from the album but like "Chasing the Sun", it didn't make the standard edition of the album. Thankfully it was available on the fanjoy version of the album (as well as iTunes). I love this and I feel it's way better than "Chasing the Sun". The video was pretty good. 10/10
3) Outlaw: A snippet of this song was played on Hilary's show "Younger". Sadly when Hilary revealed the name of the song on "twitter" she said that it wouldn't be on the album. Thankfully she put it on the fanjoy version of the album. It has a folk-pop sound to it, which makes me wonder why Hilary didn't just put out a folk-pop album first and then release a pop album afterward. It was surprising to hear her swear on the first verse but the song is still amazing. 9/10
4) Chasing the Sun (Dave Aude Remix): Sadly the remixed version of this song doesn't do anything for me. 4/10
It's good that Hilary finally released a new album, however before the album was released there were over 20 tracks that were recorded for the album. This is because Hilary had originally recorded a folk-pop album that was set to be released in October 2014, but that didn't happen. And even though there are overall 17 songs on this album, there are still 21 (or 20) songs that didn't make the album. These are the known titles of the songs:
"17", "Better Days", "Hurts", "Northern Star", "Feel Alive", "If I Fall", "This Heart", "Falling", "Whistling Dixie", "Carry On", "Where the Gods Play", "Take It for What It Is", "Before the Light Changes", "It All Starts Tonight", "Tearing Down Walls", "Snow Globe", "Wild Night Out", "Wherever You Go", "When We Were Young", "Breathing Room", and "Rebel Heart" (which was likely re-titled as "Rebel Hearts" for the album but I felt it needed to be mentioned anyway. I'm hoping Hilary will release another album with these songs on it because I've been wanting to hear "Northern Star" since she posted a picture of the lyrics on her instagram.
Overall Hilary Duff's "Breathe In. Breathe Out." was worth the 8 year wait. I hope she doesn't wait 8 years to release another album. My favorite songs on the album are: "Lies", "Breathe In. Breathe Out.", "All About You", "Confetti", Stay In Love", "One In a Million", "My Kind", "Rebel Hearts", "Arms Around a Memory", "Night Like This (featuring Kendall Schmidt)", "Belong", and "Sparks". So basically I love the whole album. For the standard edition, out of 120 points I give the album 114 points which is 95% making it an A+. For the deluxe edition's score, out of 140 points I give the album 133 points which funny enough ends up being a 95% as well, another A+. For the fanjoy edition of the album, out of 160 points I give the album 141 points which i 88%, a B+. This is an amazing album and if you haven't got the album yet, then go out and buy it because it's one of the best albums that has been released this year!
