Dust off your butterfly clips and embrace your inner outfit repeater — it’s a Hilary Duff renaissance. After a decade-long hiatus where the former child star got remarried, had three more kids and came under fire for being a part of a toxic mom group, she’s officially back with her new album, “luck…or something.”
The record represents not only a reintroduction into the spotlight but a rebirth of Duff’s public persona. Collaborating with her husband and producer Mathew Koma, whose previous pop credentials include icons like Britney Spears, Carly Rae Jepsen and Pink, she dissects the universal struggles of anxiety and relationship troubles. On “luck…or something,” Duff remains the queen of the early 2000s sparkle — this time with a little more grit.
Like every shiny pop chameleon, Duff disguises heavy themes with catchy synths. With quick conversational songwriting, Duff dives into personal topics that someone at a similar life stage may avoid. In the track “We Don’t Talk,” Duff laments about her estranged relationship with her sister: “‘Cause we come from the same home, the same blood / A different combination, but the same lock.” By pulling back the curtain on her anxieties within her relationship and the future, the track is refreshingly honest with its candid lyrics.
At its core, the album is an ode to being a people-pleaser. In the upbeat, guitar-driven opening track, “Weather For Tennis,” Duff characterizes herself as “a seasoned apologist” and “an amateur psychologist.” Similarly, “Future Tripping” captures the uncertainties of what lies ahead in her marriage: “I’m worried about / Shit that hasn’t happened / Entertaining every doubt / Oh, here I go again / Future tripping out.” Duff has stepped away from cheery teenage anthems like the 2003 “Come Clean” to dissecting her trauma like she’s in a therapy session.
However, with this intense diaristic depth, Duff struggles to make her stories flow seamlessly. She’s trying to apply the realistic lyricism of some of her favorite artists like Taylor Swift and even newer star Audrey Hobert, but sometimes it doesn’t quite fit. In the synth-pop single “Roommates,” Duff explains the struggle in trying to revitalize the spark in her marriage. While the song has a euphoric beat reminiscent of Swift’s 2023 track “Anti-Hero,” it’s overlaid with abruptly jarring lines. “Back of the dive bar, giving you head” is something I was not ready for Lizzie McGuire to say. The mature nature of the lines is not inherently the problem — she’s 38 years old for God’s sake — but they feel out of place in the album’s greater picture.
The album reaches its emotional peak on “The Optimist.” Dipping into the indie-folk realm, Duff reflects on her tumultuous relationship with her father: “I wish I could sleep on planes / And that my father would really love me.” With plucking guitar lines that echo Kacey Musgraves’ 2024 release “The Architect,” it tugs at the heartstrings, proving that Duff is most powerful when she’s not trying to achieve a level of shock value.
“luck… or something” proves that Hilary Duff has transitioned into a mature adult navigating the complexities of motherhood and marriage, but still leaves with the glitter and happy-go-lucky demeanor that we know and love her for. Even with its clunky lyricism, “luck… or something” is just subversive enough to worm its way into our ears — if you let it.
Contact Ellie Miller at [email protected].