Beabadoobee
Fake It Flowers
Release Date: Oct 16, 2020
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Dirty Hit
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Album Review: Fake It Flowers by Beabadoobee
Excellent, Based on 11 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
Fast-forward to 2020, and Beabadoobee is still producing binge-worthy tracks, this time on coming-of-age soundtrack, Fake It Flowers. Lead single "Care" is a hook-filled hoot with angst-addled lyrics to boot. "I don't want your sympathy" Bea coos "Stop saying you give a shit / 'Cause you don't really / Care, care, care, yeah" she repeats, uniting those who have struggled to get people to understand their past experiences.
Based on rating 4.0/5
One of 2020's best new artists brings us a blend of old school pop-rock and modern dream-pop that is all too easy to sink into. beabadoobee, a Filipino-born British singer-songwriter, wears her inspirations on her sleeve: she's part 90s grunge star, part 2000s indie-rocker, and part 2010s dream-popper. The idea that every facet of her music feels dated, if not slightly worn, weighs heavily on Fake It Flowers - a full-length debut that is designed to entertain more than it is to enlighten. It's so good at its former goal, however, that its transparent influences are forgivable.
Based on rating 8/10
The rise of beabadoobee (real name Beatrice Laus and also known as Bea Kristi) is a typically odd story of Gen Z stardom. As a teenager in northwest London, she took to music with a DIY spirit, teaching herself to play guitar via YouTube tutorials and writing short, emotionally bare indie rock songs from her bedroom. Those rough recordings ended up attracting thousands of listeners and the attention of the British label Dirty Hit (home to UK indie giants The 1975 and Wolf Alice).
Based on rating 4
For those of you who might be getting on a bit, who checked out of pop music back when singers were still wearing low-cut jeans, it might be somewhat reassuring to know that the Dido route to stardom is still viable. Beabadoobee's profile has risen considerably ever since her song Coffee was sampled for Powfu's Death Bed, which became a Top 5 hit in May, and her debut album is well placed to capitalise on this attention. The first thing to note about Fake It Flowers is that it's very American: the pop-punk stylings of Avril Lavigne are interspersed with various influences from ’90s alt-rock such as shoegaze, post-grunge and introspective singer-songwriter material.
Based on rating 8/10
With a dedicated Gen-Z fanbase, beabadoobee — the moniker of musician Bea Kristi — has become a household name to fans of bedroom pop playlists and viral TikTok videos. Fake It Flowers, her debut full-length album, aims to blur the genre barrier between '90s garage rock and lo-fi pop, finding her on the cusp of breaking into mainstream radio while remaining a budding rock star in her own right. Fuelled by her love for Britpop, the album carries a deep nostalgia for that era of grunge, chipped vinyl and vintage threads. The songs sound like they were recorded while rocking out with her friends in the garage with a no-fucks-given attitude toward music — and it works..
Based on rating 8/10
With each piece of music she releases, Beabadoobee's Bea Kristi takes huge steps forward -- which is saying something considering that the first song she ever wrote, 2017's "Coffee," quickly became a viral hit. Though that single's whispery simplicity won her an audience, it didn't capture the sound in her head. On the Loveworm and Space Cadet EPs, she enlisted a full band and producer Pete Robertson and looked back to the '90s, an era whose moods and sounds she digs deeper into on her debut album, Fake It Flowers.
Based on rating 8
Bea Kristi scarcely knew what she started. Uploading her first demo 'Coffee' to YouTube, she needed a name - started almost as a joke, beabadoobee quickly went viral, and 'Coffee' became the point of no return, the moment when shit got real. Ever since then it's been a whirlwind. The Filipino-born, West London raised songwriter signed to Dirty Hit, hung out with her heroes, and released a stream of phenomenal indie pop jewels, balancing the arch observational eye of hero and sparring partner Stephen Malkmus with some sublime melodies with a nagging 90s feel.
Based on rating 4/5
While obviously entirely coincidental that her debut falls towards the end of a year in which both nothing much and everything ever has happened - Beabadoobee's ascendancy was secure once she'd pondered existence as a '90s slacker rock icon on her 'Space Cadet' EP. After all - if there's one thing the universe has conspired to allow us to do over the past six months, it's brood. And the diary-entry nature of Bea's songwriting - over twelve tracks she dips into hair dye as empowerment ('Dye It Red'), self-harm via blistering highlight 'Charlie Brown', and a not-particularly-well-hidden reference to her boyfriend in 'Horen Sarrison' - makes the fuzzy, bubblegum grunge of 'Fake It Flowers' a perfect brooding soundtrack.
Based on rating 7/10
If you've been following Billboard's alternative airplay charts, you might've noticed the curiously named Beabadoobee and wondered about her breakthrough single Care. What's also surprising is that the Filipino-born British singer-songwriter's single brings back a 90s-evoking sound that resonates more with smaller indie rock bands who have to push hard to get their fans to listen to their music on platforms like Bandcamp. Another glance at the charts also reveals that the veteran artists she's currently pitted against, whom she proudly emulates, have moved on to other sounds since alt-rock hasn't been fashionable for over twenty years—the Smashing Pumpkins have taken another dramatic pivot with their goth-tinged disco jam CYR, while The Killers are so deep into the Bruce Springsteen rabbit hole on their new album Imploding the Mirage that they've likely paid The Boss top-dollar to make sure he doesn't sue for copyright infringement.
Based on rating 6.4/10
Bea Kristi writes songs for the movies of her dreams. Though her music gained traction on the comparatively small screens of TikTok and YouTube, the 20-year-old guitarist and singer fantasizes through a cinematic lens: Tom Hanks is her hero; the Juno soundtrack introduced her to the folksy side of indie rock. The Hollywood sensibility carries through to her music, which she releases as beabadoobee, a moniker invented as an Instagram handle.
Opinion: Excellent
The Lowdown: If you've ever scrolled TikTok, you've heard beabadoobee's sweet single "Coffee". It -- plus a song that samples it -- has been used to soundtrack almost every clip that includes any of the following: a nausea-inducing relationship montage, a racoon (or other wild animal) doing something kind of cute, or a craft project that you will absolutely never do but bookmark anyway. "Coffee" had taken off even before it made its way onto the omnipresent app, when it was posted by 1-800-LOVE-U, a popular YouTube channel with 700,000-plus subscribers.
'Fake It Flowers'
is available now