Last Friday, actress, philanthropist and singer-songwriter Hilary Duff released her sixth studio album, “luck… or something,” which is almost as haphazard as its title. Despite a few standout songs, the album is an awkward attempt to distance Duff from her Disney Channel roots.
The project opens with a promising start. “Weather for Tennis” immediately catches listeners’ attention with playful lyrics and unexpected rhyme schemes. The song establishes themes of uncertainty, insecurity and a tumultuous introduction to adulthood that Duff continues to explore throughout the rest of the album. Whether you’re going through a breakup or a midlife crisis, the song is fun and relatable. “You calling me batshit’s / The fastest antibiotic for thinking / You’re different this time,” Duff sings.
But any enjoyment the listeners have fades quickly. The next couple of tracks seem more like filler than substantive pieces. In “Roommates” and “Future Tripping,” it is unclear whether Duff is embracing her Disney Channel, bubblegum pop roots or trying to fit the niche of more “serious” mainstream music.“Future Tripping,” for example, feels like a “Teen Beach Movie” track with occasional cussing. This inability to commit to a concept makes the songs feel inauthentic and emotionally inconsistent.
“Growing Up” and “The Optimist” are no different. Duff once again tries, to little avail, to show a more emotional side to her music.
In “Growing Up,” Duff’s lackluster vocal performance — which suffers from her fear of straying from an autotuned sound — is exacerbated by lazy rhymes and hackneyed emotional takes on coming of age. The lines “And it’ll happen once again / I’ll turn to you friend / ‘Cause I know you’ll understand / And you will until the end” seem more reminiscent of a nursery rhyme than an emotional ballad about getting older.
In “You, From The Honeymoon,” Duff’s musical maturity reaches that of the Disney-Channel-star-turned-musician. She attempts to redefine herself as more mature through edgy imagery like “sleeping pills or benzos” and phrases such as “teach your fingers how to touch me.”
But the tracks continue to blossom in the latter third of the album, taking a drastic turn for the better. Similar to “Weather for Tennis,” the album’s ninth track, “Mature,” finally embraces Duff's strengths — petty lyrics and catchy bubblegum pop — instead of painfully trying to be something it is not.
The song’s lyrics start out strong as Duff recalls seeing her ex with a younger woman, claiming “She’s me, I’m her in a different font / Just a few years younger, a new haircut / Very Leo of you with your Scorpio touch.”
The track also plays around with fun production and vocal effects with Duff’s muffled yelling of “you’re so mature for your age” during the song’s chorus.
The album finally seems to find its footing toward the end, closing with “Adult Sized Medium,” which feels like a playful blend of Carly Rae Jepsen and The 1975.
“luck… or something” often feels like a forced, unorganized attempt at entering the world of mainstream pop music. But songs like “Weather for Tennis,” “Mature” and “Adult Sized Medium” illustrate Duff at her best: The rare moments when the singer capitalizes on her strengths rather than awkwardly trying to be something she is not.
Ann Gray Golpira is a Section Editor covering Arts & Culture. She is from Norfolk, Virginia and plans on concentrating in both International and Public Affairs and Anthropology. Outside of The Herald, you can find her writing, recording and producing her original music.
