Filipina-English singer-songwriter Beatrice Laus, known professionally as Beabadoobee, made her claim to fame in 2019 with the rise of bedroom pop. Her single “death bed (coffee for your head)” made its rounds on TikTok, and her subsequent releases caught similar viral attention. It wasn’t until the release of her sixth and most recent album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, that Bea finally caught the attention of critics. Released August 9th — a week before its originally planned date — the record has already reached number one on the Billboard UK charts.
Many fans discovered Bea’s plot for a sixth studio album months prior to its announcement, even guessing its title. On account of her very public relationship with her current boyfriend, audiences expected a lovey-dovey album. Instead, Bea delivered a layered sonic experience.
The record’s first track, “Take A Bite,” had been teased to fans since April. It became the record’s first single, with an accompanying music video. Its catchy refrain, “I think I might… take a bite” and the subsequent upbeat chorus went viral on TikTok, capturing the attention of fans and non-fans alike. Its verses are pouty and brassy in a way that hooks the listener. Bea sings, “Sure, it’s easy to talk, but I take it and I eat it with a cherry on top.” Whether these lines exist as innuendo or otherwise, they are the bold first few lines that set the tone for the album as a whole. Descending into the chorus, she sings, “I wanted to see the world in color through your eyes and through your mind.” Initially, Bea’s connection with the person about which she sings sounds somewhat superficial, or exclusively physical. However, as she reveals to the listener throughout the song, her feelings run deeper. She ends each chorus with the line: “I think I might… wanna do it all over again,” perhaps nodding to the cyclical nature of the relationship as it turns from purely physical to soulful and romantic.
Track three, “One Time,” is an upbeat play on an old Bea classic. Following the theme of the ups and downs of relationships, she sings, “Didn’t believe the love you gave, it takes two people to make that mistake. You never tried… it’s such a shame you don’t cross my mind. But you did this one time.” Bea draws out the last word, playing with the notes, making for a catchy hook. The rhythm picks up in a quickened, huffy outro. “Keep on faking just to make it, what’s the point of fixing problems? When it’s broken, we were shameless, and we never try to solve ‘em.” These lines repeat until the song’s sudden close. Though the chorus is limited to one line, it changes the song’s trajectory every time it is sung. When Bea sings, “But you did this one time,” she reminds herself of her partner’s potential. Perhaps she gasps onto a false idea that eventually they’ll be good enough for her, but by the end of the song, she concludes that it’s been a lost cause all along.
Another song favored by Bea, track four’s “Real Man” is playful and somewhat satirical. She alludes to the false idealization of men as romantic partners, scolding her partner’s lewd tendencies. She sings, “I told my mother what you did, like a kid, and I already told you I just wanted to dance. Could you see me out here with my outstretched hand? I guess no one ever taught you how to be a real man.” These lyrics live within a longer outro that doubles as a hook. Bea even made a dance for the collection of lines, which she had fans mimicking on TikTok. She sings, “Would you hold it down and take it if I gave you the chance? Need the reassurance, baby, not a silly romance. Guess I’m used to being disappointed, falling too fast. If you want it, go and get it, and I hope you last.”
Bea slows it down on track six with “Girl Song.” With the theme of girlhood trending across social platforms, it’s only fitting for Bea to release a song on the same topic, as her music has existed as a major factor in the girlhood of many young girls and women. Her album Beatopia epitomizes girlhood, with songs like “Fairy song” and “Talk.” “Girl Song” doesn’t sugarcoat or romanticize girlhood like other forms of media of the same motif, rather, it is a raw, relatable account of the complex experience that is navigating the world as a woman in her twenties. “In a way, I’m just figuring it out at my own pace,” she sings. Although she and many others are experiencing the uncertainties of girldom simultaneously, the experience manifests differently for all and must be navigated individually on one’s own timeline, not based on the experiences of others. In 2020, Bea opened up to The Standard about her struggles with self-image, which began at a young age. She explained, “School was predominantly white, rich girls. It was very hard to fit in. I struggled a lot with self-acceptance, what I wore, and how I did my make-up. The popular girls wouldn’t bully you so obviously but bring you down in a way that hurt just as bad. No boys really liked me. I was an anomaly.” These feelings of inadequacy can take years to turn off. In “Girl Song,” Bea gets candid about her ongoing struggles with her appearance. She sings, “Wakin’ up to hardly recognizing my own face, just a stranger in the mirror thinkin’ ‘Oh, what a shame,’ didn’t think she’d look this way. Don’t look no different to how I looked yesterday.” She recognizes, however, that these feelings ebb and flow on a daily basis. “Day like no other,” she sings, “and just another bad day.” The most healing thought in times of internal crisis can be that everything is temporary, and some things are just out of our control.
As we reach the middle of the album, its tone shifts. Track eight, “Ever Seen,” is a testament to the first spark of a romance between her and her current boyfriend, Jake Erland. The two have been outwardly public with their relationship since they started dating. Erland has directed all of Bea’s music videos since her 2023 single “The Way Things Go.” The pair have two cats together, Kimchi and Miso — who have their own Instagram page — and Bea mentions him frequently across her socials and during live performances. She sings, “Spent some time waiting for your face, don’t want to risk making the same mistakes. The highest I think I’ve ever been, said I had the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen.” She continues, “Wound up with a purpose… every piece of me holds a part of you, wish I could see that it feels much better when I’m with you.” Part of her feels the need to keep her guard up. After all, she’s been through this many times before and, rightfully so, would prefer to protect her peace. Yet, she confesses, “I can’t lie, he has the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
Track 11, “Beaches,” has been labeled by Bea herself as the best song on the album and her personal favorite, especially to perform live. At a recent intimate show at The Pryzm in Kingston commemorating the album’s release, she cried on stage while performing the upbeat, joyful song. Arguably the happiest song on the album, it is also the catchiest. Its chorus is impossible to sing without a smile. “The days blend to one when I’m on the right beaches, and the walls painted white, they tell me all the secrets. Don’t wait for the tide just to dip both your feet in, ‘cause I’m sure now, I’m sure.” Though at a glance the song may seem insignificant due to its lack of lyrical substance in comparison to other tracks on the album, it is a true testament to how far Bea has come in her mental health journey. The listener can hear her excitement and sincere delight through the recording, and even more so when she plays it live.
“This is How It Went” makes for a somber yet powerful end to an emotional rollercoaster of a record. The lore behind the song, known to many longtime fans, is quite simply sickening. For those unaware, following the breakup between Bea and her boyfriend of seven years Soren Harrison, he began dating her close friend. Bea had already written several songs about Harrison, yet “The Way Things Go” remains the most infamous. In response to the song, which for Bea was a way to cope and move forward with the betrayal, Harrison posted a picture captioned tauntingly “I guess that’s just the way things go.” A low blow, if I may say so. On “This is How It Went,” Bea sings, “And it was my song, oh, just a song. You made it worse just by singing along.” Her voice is high, quiet, and crushed as she continues, “Just keep busy or make a movie and I’ll stick to writing my songs. Getting tired, don’t want to speak, oh, please let me go to sleep.” The last two lines repeat, until the album’s end.
This Is How Tomorrow Moves easily establishes itself as Bea’s most mature, complex record, lyrically and sonically. Bea has quite literally moved from 2019 indie-bedroom pop to something much bigger. As she continues to headline festivals and sell out venues across the world, Beabadoobee is now the fully-fledged artist her fans always knew she could become.
Featured Photo Credit: Jules Moskovtchenko