With her second full-length foray into boppy indie-rock, Beabadoobee paints a landscape of romanticism and delves into her love of 00’s pop through her fantastical world laden with intimacy and the wildest imaginations of her seven-year-old self.
Aptly titled Beatopia, this sophomore record calls itself home to her most mature and impressive work to date. Sitting at fourteen tracks long, Beabadoobee weaves her way through the grunge nature of ‘Talk’ and the softer, more relaxed tones found in ‘Sunny Day’, all the while sticking to her bass-heavy, delicate and introspective roots.
Talking about her relationship with the release, Bea notes: “[Beatopia] is about accepting my past and my actions and seeing it as part of me. It’s your life and you can do whatever you want, and if you make mistakes, it’s gonna help you for the end result; it’s all going to mean something at the end. It’s definitely me getting over things about my self-image, and feeling comfortable in a general sense of my life and who I am. I’m still working on it.”
Heavily sentimental, the album is rooted in nostalgia and focusses on themes of self-growth and the journey to self-acceptance, wrapped in the comfort of her imaginary world. Lead single ‘Talk’ bridges the gap between Beatopia, and her debut record, Fake It Flowers.
Where the latter was deeply rooted in pop-punk reminisence, Beatopia takes on a more stripped-back, shoegaze approach that is veined throughout tracks such as ‘Fairy Song’ and ‘Ripples’. ‘Talk’ features Bea’s staple infectious sound and offers flashes of her rocky persuasion that allows the guitars to take the limelight as soaring vocals follow the narrative of the excitement involved in a night out that teeters on a ‘coming-of-age’ soundtrack.
The Healy-manipulated cut ‘Pictures Of Us’ is just one of a handful of collaborative tracks with the album also featuring Pink Panteress, the lyrics of Jack Steadman (Bombay Bicycle Club) and lent instrumentation from Georgia Ellery (Jockstrap and Black Country, New Road). Despite feeling slightly misplaced on the record, ‘Pictures Of Us’ is an emo-tinged number that highlights soothing vocalisations and harmonies that sits perfectly alongside the dreamy vocals found in ‘Lovesong’.
While being less immediately as full-throttle as Fake It Flowers, Bea’s sophomore offering is a sweet delve into the protagonists psyche and is written with an intimacy that isn’t as prevalent in her debut project. The record boasts Bea’s ability to flit between genres – from the airy indie numbers ‘See You Soon’ and ‘Lovesong;’ to the dynamic rock of ‘Don’t Get The Deal’ and lush-pop intonations of ’10:36′, Beatopia is a truly impressive, and ambitious feat.
OCTOBER
Tue 04 DUBLIN Olympia Theatre
Wed 05 BELFAST Ulster Hall
Fri 07 BRISTOL Academy
Sat 08 NORWICH UEA
Mon 10 NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Tue 11 NEWCASTLE NX
Thu 13 MANCHESTER Academy
Fri 14 SHEFFIELD Foundry
Sat 15 GLASGOW Barrowland
Mon 17 BRIGHTON Chalk
Tue 18 SOUTHAMPTON Engine Rooms
Wed 19 LONDON Brixton Academy
Words by Lana Williams
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