Album Review: Beabadoobee 'This Is How Tomorrow Moves'
Beabadoobee unleashes her third studio album: ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’, a body of work which is set to propel her ever-growing popularity even further.
Bursting onto the scene in 2017, the London artist wasted no time in letting the world know all about her musical capabilities. With each release she gained more and more attention… and justifiably so.
Today, Beabadoobee and her fantastic band are some of the hottest prospects. The new record is one that has been eagerly awaited. The excitement around Beabadoobee has been heightened by the release of the singles which have preceded the album.
One of those tracks released in the run up to ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ is the fantastic ‘Take A Bite’, which kicks off the new record.
The decision to use this as the opener is perfect. It shows off Beabadoobee and co in all the best ways…
It’s a carefully paced track full of jangly riffs and melodic rhythms, all topped off by the stunning and instantly recognisable voice of the singer-songwriter herself. Her flow during the verses is perfect, as she works her way through beautifully poetic lyrics which are raw and honest. One of those is the direct line: “Only want to fix it with a kiss on the lips.” There is no room for ambiguity, and this is something that fans will love.
The group’s versatility is displayed in the transition from the opener to the album’s second track ‘California’. This one features more rocky guitars, which build up tension in the verses with careful riffs, before exploding in a frenzy of fuzz in the choruses. This one boasts a tight band-performance, with all instruments combining to create an epic track that is- as expected- topped off by gripping vocals.
‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ holds fourteen tracks. The brilliance of the record is that we are gifted a variety of the styles and sounds throughout.
There are several slower, melodic tracks which are simply breath-taking. One of these is the incredible ‘Tie My Shoes’. This one is largely acoustic and is reminiscent of some of Beabadoobee’s earliest work. As the singer treats us to what may be the most stunning vocal performances on the entire record, her band combine to really build the sound, creating a reflectional number which is bursting with emotive sounds. From careful guitar riffs to soothing saxophones, this one has it all. It really has the feel that this one will be a hit with listeners both digitally as well as in person at live shows.
The track acts as a moment of calm, a chance to look back.
Immediately following this acoustic track is ‘Girl Song’. This one is equally unique, as it is almost exclusively piano-based. It’s soft, gripping and yet-again, full of emotion. Beabadoobee’s voice elegantly tells a story. Her words are chilling as she sings the words: “All I wanna do is find the words to make it up to you.”
This one will really resonate with listeners, as the singer truly pours her heart out as she carefully works her way through delicate piano chords.
Singles from the run-up to the record sound even sweeter when heard in their specific places on the album in its entirety. The extremely well-received ‘Coming Home’ is one of these, and fans will be reminded of just how strong of a track this one is.
As mentioned previously, the lyrics on this record are direct. Beabadoobee tells it how it is on the new album, and this is something that transcends her song writing. Her direct approach is brilliant. On this style, the artist said: “I think the difference this time is I had more trust in my actual song writing. I almost went back to like, ‘What did I do at 17 when I wrote Coffee?’ I wasn’t overthinking about everything.”
The quality of this record is extremely consistent. Right the way through ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’, we are gifted beautiful music repeatedly. In fact, the tail end of the record is home to some of the greatest tracks.
One of these is ‘The Man Who Left Too Soon’, one of the shorter songs on the record. The guitar riff that drives this one is playful and fun, creating almost a head-bopping feel.
The record closes out with ‘This Is How It Went’. It follows the trend of the rest of the album in that it’s full of direct and gripping lyricism. Beabadoobee’s incredible voice tells a tale of life after a relationship. Her words will resonate with so many as she sings: “Just keep busy and make a movie, and I’ll stick to writing my songs.” She then goes on to repeat the catchy, emotional words: “Getting tired, don’t want to speak. Oh, please let me go to sleep.”
With that pure display of emotions, ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ comes to a close. This album is stunning, and it boasts possibly Beabadoobee’s most mature, carefully crafted and thoughtful pieces of music. Fans will certainly lap this record up.
Words by Matthew Caslin
