Beabadoobee, fake it flowers
Dirty Hit
To describe Beabadoobee as a ‘viral sensation’, as she’s been so often labelled, is a disservice. She proves it on her debut album, fake it flowers, which barely even skims the bedroom-pop niche she was once renowned for. fake it flowers is teen-angst rock in its finest form, with all the authenticity Bea is famed for, scaled up to ten times the size.
From sky-sized opener Care!, Bea asserts her presence. The whole of fake it flowers feels like an announcement of her arrival – she’s here, she’s already garnered a fanbase who adore her sound, and now she’s ready to grow into an even more renowned artist. Her sound evokes other artists who’ve seen similar astronomical rises to fame – the glittering tone of Dirty Hit labelmates Pale Waves flicker through at moments on Worth It’s gleaming chorus and the woozy clarity of Back To Mars’ soundscapes. Elsewhere in the inspiration Bea draws from Dirty Hit’s incredible catalogue is an explosiveness that can only evoke Wolf Alice – early highlight Charlie Brown blends seamlessly from a moody, bass-driven verse into a chorus that’s a glorious howl. Bea isn’t afraid to make her voice louder than she’s ever even hinted at before, and it’s a powerful development.
Though Bea’s tangible growth as an artist is thrilling to observe, her longtime fans might find fake it flowers a little bittersweet – a lot of Bea’s early charm comes from the intimacy of her hazy bedroom-pop, and the sonic magnitude of the album means that intimacy gets a little lost. The tracks that do tone it down, however, shine: aptly titled Emo Song boasts suitably melancholic delivery, but this time instead of a lofi backing it’s an expanse of spacey synth. Similarly, the reflective Horen Sarrison is built up with a luxurious lament of guitar lines, a sweeping soft-rock soundscape in triple time; Bea is as vulnerable as ever but there’s definitely elements that keep you remembering that she’s a star now too. On single How Was Your Day?, she’s maybe the most classic Bea she sounds on the whole record, making for one of fake it flowers’ most heartfelt moments in its gentle simplicity.
fake it flowers’ USP is the fact that Bea refuses to try and find her feet – far from the usual expectation that an album might refine an artist’s sound, on fake it flowers she dips into a multitude of sounds and genres to see which one might fit. From Charlie Brown and Together’s gritty indie-punk to the dreamier moments to the total jam of an album closer Yoshimi Forest Magdalene, which is practically surf-punk, Bea meanders through all her potential directions, refusing to remain confined to the bedroom. With the success she’s achieved so far, the music world is her oyster.
Fake It Flowers is out Friday 16th October.
