Portrait of Tomorrow: beabadoobee’s celebration of innocence and girlhood in her third album

Beatrice Kristi Laus, artistically known as beabadoobee, has recently released her third album, This is How Tomorrow Moves.

Laus’ writing process is driven by her emotions, making her music a snapshot of her personal life. She captures moments and memories that feel both intimate and authentic, paying tribute to her past selves. In This Is How Tomorrow Moves, Laus embraces her signature style while moving toward an understanding of the natural pain accompanying adulthood’s acceptance.

The track ‘Beaches’ adds to the rich tapestry of emotions that define her work

A child-like innocence in ‘Tie My Shoes’ emerges as a heartfelt plea for support in the simplest of tasks, reflecting Laus’ desire to heal her inner child.  This theme carries through to ‘Coming Home’, an ode to the girl she hopes to meet soon – a version of herself that will embrace her innocence alongside a future partner.  Laus pays tribute to Romanticism as she embarks on a journey to discover the best version of herself which she envisions through her music. The track ‘Beaches’ adds to the rich tapestry of emotions that define her work.  The hook of the song, “days blend to one when I’m on the right beaches / And the walls painted white, they tell me all the secrets” outlines a shift in physical space and temporality. It encapsulates the crux of Laus’ creative endeavour in this album, on route to a neutral space – mental or physical – where she feels at ease and disconnected from the pressures and routines of everyday life. In such a setting, the days blur together, indicating a state of timelessness and tranquillity.

Songs with lore, like ‘girl, so confusing’, Charli xcx’s recent collab with Lorde, tend to embody a unique listening experience. The same is embodied through the conclusive song of This Is How Tomorrow Moves, titled ‘This Is How It Went’. The song’s title, echoing the album’s name, serves as a declaration. Laus makes a firm statement, finally confronting her emotions about her past with ex-boyfriend Soren Harrison.

In a poignant nod to her beloved, Elliott Smith, Laus recounts her feelings towards Harrison’s callousness, particularly after the release of her 2023 single, ‘the way things go’. Initially sparked by feminine rage, the song was tempered during production to create a catchy yet nonchalant anthem of acceptance – a reflection of a painful situation that resonated deeply with TikTok users. Despite this single not making it onto her third album, the ironed-out maturity extends to and throughout the record. Encompassing a contemplative acceptance of self in songs like ‘Girl Song’, it is as though the artist has reached an epiphany, reflected in the full realisation of her individual sound – This Is How Tomorrow Moves masterfully weaves together all of the genres of music she has experimented with, from grungy, heavy rock ‘Together’ to bossa-nova ‘the perfect pair’.

This record exudes a sense of elegance, especially in comparison to her debut and sophomore albums

She pays tribute not only to the artists who have shaped her – crediting American rock band Pinegrove and the influential Fiona Apple as her primary influences – but also to all of her past selves. Especially to herself as a little girl, who is honoured both within the record and on its physical copies. She owns her story, her truth, her tomorrow, fearlessly.

Whilst the album’s artwork may not be favoured in the beabadoobee fandom, its departure from her usual hand-drawn, whimsical style towards something more straightforward mirrors the album’s essence: candid and unfiltered. Laus shares that all of her songs – aside from ‘Beaches’, which was written at renowned Shangri-La Studios – were crafted on her guitar in safe, familiar spaces like her own living room or friend’s houses.

This record exudes a sense of elegance, especially in comparison to her debut and sophomore albums – a polished, candid elegance, which has blossomed out of a true adoration of music and the real, honest life of a girl from London. “I’ll stick to writing my songs”, Laus says, signalling a desire to leave the drama behind so that she can finally “go to sleep”. Amidst the creative decisions for Tomorrow, Laus yearns to look forward to tomorrow with a newfound acceptance of the past.

Here are some songs we recommend if you are looking to try out new artists carrying the same vibe as beabadoobee’s This is How Tomorrow Moves:

• ‘i do luv you’, okeyceci
• ‘stuck on you’, April June and Yot Club
• ‘lovergirl’, saturra
• ‘Right Side of My Neck’, Faye Webster
• ‘better (with you)’, Crying City
• ‘anything’, Adrianne Lenker

★★★★

Recommended Listening: ‘Take A Bite’, ‘Coming Home’, ‘California’

Listen to This Is How Tomorrow Moves here: