This should be automatic. An effortlessly cool English alt-pop performer who has opened for releases an album produced by the legendary and the rest falls in place. But the best laid plans sometimes fall short and beabadoobee鈥檚 third studio album, 鈥淭his Is How Tomorrow Moves,鈥� doesn鈥檛 quite move the needle.
Beabadoobee, whose real name is Beatrice Kristi Laus, worked with Rubin in his legendary Shangri-La studio in Malibu for the 14-track aural exploration 鈥� a far cry from the London bedroom where she started her career. The album covers themes of self-acceptance and personal growth. While the songwriting is smart, the delivery feels a bit disconnected and vexed. Often, her voice is too slight against the sounds around her.
In track order, we鈥檒l quickly move past the opener, 鈥淭ake A Bite,鈥� which frankly sounds too much like 鈥淒rive鈥� in both lyric structure and musical phrasing to be merely referential.
The good stuff begins on 鈥淥ne Time,鈥� 鈥淭ie My Shoes,鈥� and 鈥淕irl Song.鈥� Here, beabadoobee hits her sweet spot. 鈥淥ne Time鈥� is a medium-paced track wherein the songwriter casts a bit of shade and judgement about a paramour who faked it a little too much. She sings out here, loudly, and it sounds more earnest in emotion than the preceding tracks mired in a wall of guitar.
鈥淕irl Song鈥� could be brushed aside as a low-rung soft piano ballad, but it deserves a deeper listen. It鈥檚 slow, it鈥檚 introspective and it is guaranteed to unleash a tear or two when beabadoobee sings at the end of the chorus, 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 something I can鈥檛 say in an ordinary way," leading to the refrain: "Day like no other, and just another bad day.鈥�
This is an OK album with some excellent songs and a fair bit of filler. At the end of it all, beabadoobee remains a musical force to be respected.
Ron Harris (), The Associated Press
