beabadoobee’s “Beatopia” Album Review
Filipino-born, London-raised singer Bea Laus, known as the artist beabadoobee, released her sophomore album “Beatopia” on July 15.
Born from the imagination of a seven-year-old Laus, Beatopia is the fantasyland she created as a child. Beatopia was a refuge for beabadoobee before she was beabadoobee, a place to escape the cruelties of her own childhood – until a former teacher made a point of mocking her imaginary world alongside her classmates.
“If I didn’t have Beatopia to express my creativity, I would have been just a quiet little kid that was sad all the time,” Laus said in an interview with Kerrang. “I write songs for that seven-year-old.”
“Beatopia” is the embodiment of creative expression. It’s a dreamlike, indie-psyche-pop compilation that takes a deep dive into 22-year-old Laus’ mind without feeling too deep to grasp. While a first listen sans background on the album’s creation and inspiration might leave listeners with the impression that it’s all just a bit too disconnected, consider its origins in childhood fantasy and the mismatched tracks might just make sense.
Opener “Beatopia Cultsong” launches listeners into dreamland as voices echo “Is it me or is time recently moving slowly?” amid the overture. Unlike Laus’ first album, “Fake it Flowers”, “Beatopia” is more whimsical than grunge. Songs like “You’re here that’s the thing” and “Lovesong” are sweeter, sentimental ballads while pop-punk “Talk” and “10:36” in their 2000s-inspired glory hit closer to the artist’s past singles. “See you Soon”, an echoey tribute to tripping on psychedelics, finds its place alongside the guitar-led “fairy song”.
Beatopia is beabadoobee’s world, and a run-through of the album will let you live in it — if only for a little over 45 minutes.
“Beatopia” track list:
“Beatopia Cultsong”
“10:36”
“Sunny day”
“See you Soon”
“Ripples”
“the perfect pair”
“broken cd”
“Talk”
“Lovesong”
“Pictures of Us”
“fairy song”
“Don’t get the deal”
“tinkerbell is overrated”
“You’re here that’s the thing”