She reminded the Eurovision fandom that it’s got love during Eurovision 2018. And ever since then Australia’s sweetheart Jessica Mauboy has been pouring her energy and creativity into her new self-titled album Hilda. Well on Friday Jess let the Hilda-beast run free — and she’s a very beautiful creature.
Hilda is deeply personal. Its name is, in fact, Jess’ middle name and its release comes just days after her engagement announcement with fiance Themeli.
It comes with fourteen tracks that snake through genre and range. The record includes the ARIA Awards-nominated single “Little Things”, along with other pre-released track “Sunday“, “Blessing“, “Just Like You” and “Jealous”
From “Sea of Flags” to “Kick Up Your Heels”, our girl knows how to swerve through styles. And there’s lots of variety on this record. From the delicate and sensitive sound of “Little Things” to the vibrant and thriving “Get Back Up”, you journey through mood and texture. The latter might make you think of her hit “Fallin'”, which comes with a similarly chill production. But she steps it up this time, adding an impressive choir for the chorus — completed by her stellar vocal performance.
Another standout is “Who We’re Meant to Be”. It gets off to a slower start, but then picks up steam before the chorus hits you hard. Lyrically, it’s about times in life that you’re not able to recreate, and experiences that make you remember who you are. It also shows how Mauboy is able to bring an EDM-chorus together. Daaang!
Tracks like “Come Runnin'”, “Better” and “Wish You Well” showcase how Mauboy is still able to deliver a perfect pop chorus. And on “Selfish”, the singer describes the idea of wanting a person in her life and not being able to stop thinking about them day and night.
The story behind Hilda
In the run up to the album release, Mauboy dropped a YouTube series titled Hilda where she touched on aspects of the new record. In the latest clip, the singer describes it as her “most finest work I have ever done” and says she “believes in it so much”. It’s also the reason why it took her about three years to finish this project.
In an interview on Australian show The Project, Mauboy also broke down the background story. The stories that her mother would tell her about Jessica’s grandmother Hilda inspired her as she broke down barriers and tried to go forward. Consequently, Jessica got to embrace values such as family and the ability to have all these opportunities in her life.
Overall, Hilda comes across as a very personal and cohesive record — and one worth the six-year wait.
What do you think about Hilda? And what are some of your favourite songs on it? Let us know in the comments section down below!
Her arm is so hairy in this photo