A new grunge side of bedroom pop: Review of beabadoobee’s “Fake it Flowers”

BY CAMILA FERNANDEZ

20-year-old musician Bea Kristi, known by stage name beabadoobee, released her debut studio album “Fake It Flowers” on October 16. A 12-track record that polishes on her earlier ‘dreamy and soft’ work, “Fake it Flowers” is more dynamic and in-your-face than her previous mellow releases.

There is a clear ‘90s and ‘00s indie rock influence on the album, with a powerful atmosphere channels alternative influences like The Cranberries, Sonic Youth, Wolf Alice and Björk.

Kicking off straight away with upbeat and angsty “Care,” beabadoobee efficiently sets the stage for the entire album as being emotionally-packed, angry and juvenile. Every song alludes to teenage problems with an air of trouble-making. The restless struggles she writes about are those that many adolescents can relate to. 

For example, “Worth It” is about infidelity in a relationship and making mistakes. Additionally, “Dye It Red” is about breaking free from a controlling relationship where all you want to do is impress them. The track talks about how the protagonist realizes her worth and becomes comfortable with who she is, deciding to cut and dye her hair any way she wants regardless of what people think. The song “Further Away” is also about accepting yourself. 

Every song alludes to teenage problems with an air of trouble-making.

The juvenile aspect in this new album was intentional, and this can either be a positive or a negative thing. Despite these relatable and raw themes that were inspired by beabadoobee’s and her friends’ own stories, the songs seem to bleed together and get repetitive after a while.

However, the quick and intimate interlude “Back To Mars” is vital in the progression of the album, as it transitions the songs to a darker tone. Here, beabadoobee introduces the raw and personal storytelling that is one of the main takeaways from the album, providing a slight change from its previous youthful tone. In fact, the song “Emo Song” was set apart as one of her most authentic and vulnerable on the record. Similar in tone, “Charlie Brown” covers self harm and “Sorry” is about apologizing to someone who you feel you could’ve helped more. 

Despite these important themes that need to be discussed and can reach people, the lyricism still seems to be lacking. They are pretty simple and vague, without a deeper meaning that can generate sympathy for the songs. There is a lot of repetition in the lyrics that don’t amount to much.

All in all, beabadoobee has found her “grunge” sound through the shiny record that is “Fake it Flowers,” but the flow of her lyricism needs to be upped a notch to really seal the deal for this album.

Summary:

Photo courtesy of TN2 Magazine