Filipino indie-pop musician Beatrice Laus, known as Beabadoobee, eased summer to a close with the release of her third studio album, “This Is How Tomorrow Moves,” on Aug. 9. In a collaboration with renowned millennium producer Rick Rubin, the project carries us alongside Laus as she lays her insides bare, giving listeners a new place to call home in her music.
The autobiographical album explores the phases of Bea’s personal struggles over the past couple of years. As she reflects on some of the most difficult events of her life, the record is Bea’s own way of making peace with herself through her art. “This Is How Tomorrow Moves” is, in truth, a transitory narrative of reflection, healing and rebirth.
Bea launched the rollout for the album on May 9 with the pre-release single, “Take a Bite,” her personal grunge revival infused with a Fiona Apple-esque folk flavor. The album’s opening track, “Take a Bite” is Bea’s acknowledgment of her own flaws — her inescapable desire for burning love — setting the stage for the introspective moments that unfold throughout the album.
“California” brings up the energy with a rockish vibe, calling back to her 2022 hit single “Talk.” The track opens with an alluringly dissonant drum solo that channels the angst of making it big away from home. Though the song steps a bit awkwardly into a roughly-produced chorus, the bridge is where it really picks up. The rhythmic melody pulls the song to a passionate, headbanging end that makes it one of the album’s fan favorites.
The song transitions seamlessly into “One Time,” Bea’s first real “angry breakup song,” smashing into the album’s peak of female rage. Coasting through the bittersweet sound and lamenting lyrics of the chorus that descend into its harmoniously chaotic end, we finally start to hear Bea get down and dirty. The rising chorus of enraged screams pours out the frustration she’s been holding back, realizing that both parties refused to fix what was broken.
“Real Man” and “Tie My Shoes” create a mingling contrast in their dual themes of flirtatious blues and tragic reminiscence. “Real Man” builds the teasing melody of the chorus off of a seductive narrative of disappointing hook-ups, only to flip into the tear-jerking story of Bea’s own childhood.
“Tie My Shoes” digs deep into Bea’s fears of dependency, transitioning the album directly into its middle track, “Girl Song.” Bridging the gap between the album’s two starkly different halves, “Girl Song” is Bea’s wistful attempt at a pensive piano ballad, baring out the insecurities in her body and appearance that she shares with the other girls.
“Coming Home,” also a single from the album’s rollout, redirects us into the album’s exploration of love and healing. The instrumental’s sweetness paints a vivid picture of Bea’s longing to return to domestic life at home after her seemingly endless time touring abroad.
Perhaps one of the prettiest musical tracks on the album, “Ever Seen” sits right alongside “Glue Song” in Bea’s collection of cozy love songs. She manages to perfectly capture the feeling of natural, unconditional love through the song’s band and string arrangement, transporting listeners to a euphoric world.
The music video was filmed in Japan through the eyes of Bea’s boyfriend Jake Erland, montaging clips of Bea in joyful moments along with the song’s glimmering horn solo hook. The bridge exudes a certain magic, lifting listeners into elation as Bea soars above Shibuya.
With “A Cruel Affair” and “Post,” Bea attempts to recapture the sounds of her past hits, with varying degrees of success. “A Cruel Affair” revives the bossa nova vibe of “the perfect pair” from “Beatopia,” even if less successfully mixed. “Post” is a bit lyrically empty as Bea’s least personal song, filling the space with the familiar rambunctious drums and guitar that characterize most of her rocking hits.
Nevertheless, “Beaches” comes in as a new classic Bea anthem, embodied by the heavy electric guitar and emotive vocals that truly characterize her loveable sound. Written in Rubin’s Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, the song translates Bea’s musical journey and emboldened maturity into a beautifully flowing chorus that celebrates growth and being bold enough to take leaps toward new opportunities.
The album’s third act offers tributes to Bea’s newfound love, Jake. With tracks like “Everything I Want” and “The Man Who Left Too Soon,” it’s quickly drawn back to the past for a final confession.
The album comes to a resounding close with the pure honesty of “This Is How It Went,” Bea’s exposé on the events following her past breakup. The lyrics of the song have audiences nearly reeling at the unabashed call-outs; there’s no denying who and what the song is about, given the identical details of Bea’s previous relationship and its dramatic events.
Bea wastes no time in airing out her qualms — and that is what this album is about. She is unafraid to be bare and honest in each song, whether that be in confronting the people who harmed her or addressing her own feelings toward herself.
In “This Is How It Went” she sings “writing ‘cause I’m healing, never writing songs to hurt you” in a poetic 6/8 time signature, begging to affirm the understanding that artists must create to grow.
“I had to write all those songs to be able to move on from everything that I was going through [at] that time. To move on to tomorrow,” Bea said in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe. The record captures Bea’s entrance into a new stage of her life, finally feeling the confidence to love and create art as she pleases — despite what others may say.
While some may miss Beabadoobee’s band-heavy jams, which she delivers with “California” and “Beaches,” the album’s overall sound is more subdued, focusing more on personal storytelling and introspection.
Yet Bea is not out here making music to please the tastes of strangers on the internet; rather, she wants to make the confessions she needs to move on.
Her mastery as a songwriter sings clearly in this record, especially with the risk of exploring new sounds in collaboration with a big-name producer. The album is perhaps the truest and most representative of Bea as a person, and her growth as the artist Beabadoobee is evident in the natural progression of the record itself. The story she wishes to tell builds the basis of the album itself, producing some gorgeous works of art along the way.
Alaina Retodo is a 2024-2025 Arts & Entertainment Editor. They can be reached at aretodo@uci.edu.
Edited by Lillian Dunn, Xinyu Zhang and Jacob Ramos.
