REVIEW #1: 84/100

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The return of Hilary Duff to the music scene bore unexpected success. With media attention on her relationship to Shawn Mendes, her collaboration and mentorship by Brendon Urie, and her decidedly against the grain approach to sound and genre, this era feels like it’s already ensnared listeners. Now that the full album is here, we’re finally seeing the full picture. It’s clear that the album began with the end of Hilary and Shawn’s year long relationship. The two kept it mostly under wraps, only going public a month prior to the break up. Both have gone their separate ways, but Hilary is the first to openly discuss what happened (Shawn is expected to on his upcoming record). Knowing how personal this project is, it makes walking into it feel somewhat strange. We know we’re in for something unexpected. 

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The album with something risky: a ballad. “Heaven (In Your Eyes)” speaks about the beginning of love and it’s within this beautifully written and performed ballad that we’re introduced to how sentimental this album is. It’s a beautifully understated track that manages to blend the fear of a new love and the euphoria of finding something worthwhile. It’s a gorgeous track with a simple but memorable melody and wonderful production. The song is somewhat dominated by it’s chorus with only one real verse to speak of which is somewhat of a down, but it cannot keep the song from being near perfect and the natural opening choice. Expect to hear this one played at weddings for the foreseeable future. The album’s title track, “Spellbound”, continues on this journey of love but there’s a little more hiding behind this one. With a slick reference to James Dean, one of Hollywood’s most notable closeted celebritties, the song evokes the idea that there was a struggle between both Hilary and Shawn over his sexuality. But far beyond that, the song delves deeper into the seriousness of their romance. It’s a wonderfully written song to be sure and similarly beautifully performed. Production wise the song is great but lacks polish to really make it pop. “Is This Love?” busts in as the album’s first stone cold stunner and boy does it assert it’s dominance. The song walks a tightrope between pop and country vibes, meeting both ends together in a beautiful, glorious middle ground. The lyrics are some of the best the album has to offer and it perfectly captures the mixed emotions of love both past and present. The melody is without question the real star here though. It’s simple but gorgeous and gets stuck in your head almost immediately. It’s beautiful and an amazing addition to this opening section. Keeping up this momentum, “Runaway” presents us with another gorgeous melody that gets stuck in your head the moment you hear it. The production is once more a fusion of pop and country and it flirts with both sides well. The production accents the more melancholy nature of the lyrics and everything blends together so wonderfully around that stunning melody. It’s without question one of the best songs on the album and one of the best of the year so far. “Cinnamon Eyes”, one of the album’s singles, is another beautiful song even if it isn’t quite reaching the peaks that the previous two songs did. The production is once again gorgeous and the lyrics are just as moving. But what brings the song down is that it’s not as remarkable as a collaboration between these two could’ve been. There’s nothing particularly risky or anything that pushes the bounds of both artist’s creativity. Make no mistake it’s still wonderful, it’s just less than expected considering the dynamic these two carry with each other personally. “Rodeo Playboy” is the first stumble on the album. The production is fine but unremarkable, nothing really sticks out as particularly impressive. The lyrics feel under developed and not at all on track with where we were going. It’s the most stereotypical country on the album and it doesn’t work. It feels like a filler track but with it’s short runtime, it doesn’t linger for so long that it becomes a huge issue for the album. 

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“Only Mine” was something of a controversial song when we first heard it due to the inclusion of Harry Styles in a place that nobody wanted to find him. But really, it was a big fuss for nothing in particular. The song is a great one, but it’s not one of the best to be found on the album. The production is good, the lyrics are good, and the interplay between Hilary and Harry is good. But the song doesn’t manage to be more than good. It doesn’t take the next step and become something remarkable which is a shame because it could’ve been something really big and powerfully memorable. “Blame” is an interesting track due to it’s different musical approach. There’s something that feels really fresh about it’s sound. It’s the poppiest leaning song thusfar despite some prominent country elements, but it works. Lyrically the song doesn’t scratch the sky the way the other songs did. It’s not badly written by any stretch, but it feels less refined than the others, almost like it was a draft. The content on a basic level though does hold your attention and it’s clear that we’re the downslide of the relationship. It doesn’t come clean with what was causing the rifts but it sets us up for some gut punches later on so it does manage to do it’s job. The album once more picks up some steam with “Girl Crush”, a collaboration with Katy Perry. The song is produced well and the two ladies play well off of each other. The most fascinating aspect of the song is that it flirts with sayong something but doesn’t go the full mony and come out with it. It’s possible Hilary’s hinting at something, but the lyrics are ambiguous enough that we don’t know for sure and that adds an interesting layer to the track that will keep people returning to it to find what’s lying within. “Say Goodbye” is the next logical step forward in the destruction of the relationship. This time, there’s more anger behind Hilary’s words and it brings up a whole new set of questions about what exactly happened. Frustratingly, she continues to remain silent on the bane of the issue, instead opting to keep it fairly general, using buzzwords common to break up songs. That being said we do get is still worth the price of admission with great production and another great melody. Despite being an interlude “Haboured Love” carries a lot of power. It’s a moving short piece that perfectly leads into what follows and it manages to really stick with you. The album's lead “Hurt Me” still packs a punch just as did when we first heard it. The song’s sparse piano arrangement allows Hilary’s wonderful writing and heartfelt performance to come up front and really shine. It’s a song that carries with it a lot of emotional release and it’s clear that she means every word she’s singing. It’s a real stand out and was a perfect lead choice. “Break Your Heart” is perhaps the most damning indictment against Shwn. Hilary carries with her some real malice on the track, telling Shawn to collect his ego and implying he’s got some bad boy sensibilities. The production of the song is the most upbeat the album has to offer and it accents the attitude. However, the song feels like it has something missing. It doesn’t really move things forward and is sort of the more aggressive version of Hurt Me. It’s a good song, no mistake, it just feels like it makes the final trio of songs run in a bit of a thematic circle. The album closes on a stunner, “Drifting”. With references to Shawn’s sexuality and the stress that placed on their relationship, the song finally digs further into the aftermath of their collapse. The song has a very cathartic feeling and it ends the album on a note of hope. Hilary lets things go. Knowing that she and Shawn ended up alright in the end and remained friends, it allows this breath of relief to be final and allows us to know that her happiness continued beyond the end of the record. The production is gorgeous as the melody. 

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Spellbound is a very different kind of album than what most artists are releasing today. It’s lowkey, it’s not flashy, and it’s against the grain in terms of how it blends different genre influences. The album is book-ended by two incredible sections. The opening trio and the closing trio represent the best the album has to offer and, playing on two emotional extremes, they cover a wide range of emotions. Unfortunately, the middle section of the album swings back and forth between great and underwhelming. The collaborations on the album all for the most part don’t reach their full potential and some of the songs really don’t click all the way. But when the album clicks, it really clicks. The ideas are clear and the commitment to the style is strong. The album is full of memorable melodies and beautiful lyrics, firmly establishing Hilary as a songwriter to pay particular attention to. The album has it’s moments where it stumbles but in general, it confidently sprints to the finish, leaving behind a memorable and overall beautiful experience for the listener. 

Heaven (In Your Eyes) 9/10
Spellbound 8/10
Is This Love? 10/10
Runaway 10/10
Cinnamon Eyes 8/10
Rodeo Playboy 6/10
Only Mine 7/10
Blame 7/10
Girl Crush 8/10
Say Goodbye 8/10
Harbored Love 9/10
Hurt Me 10/10
Break My Heart 8/10
Drifting 10/10