Album Review: beabadoobee “This is How Tomorrow Moves”

By Ren Gibson

Artist: beabadoobee
Album: This Is How Tomorrow Moves

Favorite Tracks: A Cruel Affair, Beaches, Girl Song, Ever Seen, This Is How It Went
For Fans Of: mxmtoon, Pink Pantheress, Clairo

After a successful two years following her last release Beatopia in 2022, artist beabadoobee returns with This Is How Tomorrow Moves. Since her debut single “death bed (coffee for your head)” blew up on YouTube in the fall of 2017, she has become one of the most influential indie singer-songwriters of the moment. Bea’s schedule has been fairly stacked as she has picked up virality on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter, with such successes as opening for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour and cementing herself as one of the internet’s newest indie-pop darlings. Since the album’s release in early August, she’s earned eighteen million listeners on Spotify and her first number-one album debut in the United Kingdom. As she continues her journey as a musician, Bea has only seen more well-deserved acclaim.

The softness that defines her previous releases is something that while common in indie music, is uniquely her own. I first fell in love with her music when I discovered “the perfect pair” while scrolling through TikTok. It was whimsical, cutesy, and upbeat - something I felt like I hadn’t seen a lot from the artists I had already been listening to. Bea’s songwriting and ability to convey emotion made me an instant fan.

The Way the Music Moves

This Is How Tomorrow Moves is beabadoobee at her best. Soft vocals, lovestruck lyricism, and the subtlety of her production style all follow through at a new level on this album. While remaining in Bea’s traditional style, the composition and production of the songs are more varied compared to the previous albums that she has released.

Though some of the songs didn’t seem to pop out at me on their production merits, there’s a strong level of variety that made me ultra excited to be giving this album a listen. The instrumentals were some of my favorite parts of the album, with songs such as “A Cruel Affair” leaning into funkier sounds, and “Beaches” leaning into a heavier rock sound than her other music.

Finding Comfort in the Words

As I mentioned earlier, Bea’s songwriting is one of my favorite assets of her artistry. Each song is poetic and unique, focusing on themes such as love, finding what it means to call somewhere home, and perceptions of self-image. One of the most precious songs on the album to me is “Girl Song," which comes sixth on the tracklist. The song itself is highly relatable with its themes of the cycle of daily insecurity, but beabadoobe captures it in such a way that anyone can relate. In the chorus she sings, “I guеss there's still a lot to prove / And thеre's something I can't say in an ordinary way/Day like no other, and just another bad day.” Her ability to capture these everyday feelings that a lot of people simply cannot is a gift like no other. “This Is How It Went”, another of my favorite tracks from the album, responds to some of Bea’s other songs about a former relationship that she compares to a more romantic single of hers, “The Way Things Go." Bea laments, “I turned off the TV and I laid in my bed/Sat and thought blissfully listening to Elliott/Writing songs, he did the same about situations/Would've been just the same, you had to make it obvious,” making an all but subtle allusion to the great Elliott Smith, who serves as one of her biggest inspirations as an artist. The song is soft, melancholic, and a great song if you need to let out a good cry.

“Post” Listen

As a beabadoobee fan, I was entranced by her ability to extend past where her discography currently lies and introduce some new sounds into her catalog. It strays from the cutesy, soft aesthetics that her earlier releases have and explores a more raw, classic indie side that I did not know that I needed from her. This Is How Tomorrow Moves is punctuated with the growth of Bea as an artist and as a person. She once again has satisfied me with an album that will be on repeat until I’m graced with her next release.

If you’re interested in seeing her live in Boston, beabadoobee will be playing at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Friday, September 13th with support from Hovvdy, a pop duo from Texas.