Judging by the fact this is my second Beabadoobee-related article for Exeposé, it is no secret she is my favourite artist through and through. Thus, upon seeing the countdowns on my phone to both the album release and the celebratory live show get closer and closer to D-day, you can only imagine I could barely contain my excitement.
“This Is How Tomorrow Moves” is Beatrice Laus’ third studio album released through her label Dirty Hit, written entirely by her, and produced entirely by her guitarist Jacob Budgen. As of the first week since the album’s release, Beabadoobee has just been awarded her first-ever number-1 on the UK music charts, and getting to see her perform some of the new songs live was so incredibly perfect – it’s difficult to put it into words, but I’ll do my best!
My top three personal favourites from the album – both live and studio versions – are the tracks “California”, which sounds far happier than the lyrics initially let it seem, and “Beaches”, which makes me want to get out and run around on a sunny beach (no pun intended). I have yet to hear the live version of the melancholic yet lyrically enriched “Girl Song”, which also ranks in my top three – but I hope to see it appear on the setlist when I see Bea again in November!
As for the show, it had been over two years since I last saw Beabadoobee in concert before the Kingston Pryzm Banquet Records show on the 15th of August – thus, you can only imagine how excited I was. With “California” opening the setlist, Bea and her band did the studio version justice perfectly – having queued for the concert since 11 am and therefore being in the front row never felt more rewarding than in that moment.
This was also the day Bea herself found out that her album ranked number 1 – causing her, as well as me and many others, to tear up during the song “Beaches” – I felt so lucky and so happy to be able to share this moment with her and everyone else from up close.
A track that I loved the live version of better than the studio version was “Post” – I’m slowly running out of positive adjectives to describe the concert and each individual song, but for this one, the crowd singing along really made it stand out! If you’ve been lucky enough to see your favourite artist live, I’m sure you can relate to the feeling I’m describing – it’s nearly beyond words!
After the show, I was lucky enough to be able to meet Bea face to face and hug her, as well as show her my tattoo related to her previous 2022 album – “Beatopia”. As you can imagine, I was in such shock that the next morning I thought I had dreamt it. One of my biggest dreams finally came true, and I’m still so grateful for it!
I can’t wait to see Beabadoobee again on her This Is How Tomorrow Moves UK Tour in November and hopefully get to hear more of the tracks live! The ones I’m especially looking forward to are “This Is How It Went” and “A Cruel Affair”, along with the ones I’ve already mentioned.
By now, I think I’ve mentioned the majority of the songs from Bea’s new album in one way or another, so to summarise:
I feel so lucky and so proud to have Beabadoobee as my biggest musical inspiration. “This Is How Tomorrow Moves” is definitely her most heartfelt and personal album yet, and we can definitely tell this from the lyrics and the sound of the album. The fact it was entirely written and produced by her and her bandmates along with the help of Rick Rubin at Shangri-la studios in Los Angeles, only proves this further.
Out of all the artists I can think of, Bea definitely deserves her first UK number-1 the most, and the fact she achieved this right now and for this album specifically, makes me feel so proud of her as someone who watched her grow as an artist and as a person throughout the years of following her.
If you’re a fan of alternative, rock-style songs, as well as the occasional quiet, bedroom pop-style songs, all with the addition of heartfelt lyrics, definitely be sure to check out “This Is How Tomorrow Moves”!
Rating: ★★★★★ (totally not biased…)
Favourite Song(s): California, Beaches, Girl Song
Least Favourite Song(s): Coming Home
