If you asked any artist when the ideal time to release their debut album would be, the majority would agree it’s not in the middle of a global pandemic.
The dream moment of putting your first record out into the world should be exciting, full of possibility and accompanied by extensive touring and promotion.
Unfortunately for Beabadoobee amid Covid-19, that’s not been the case.
Delayed touring schedules aside though, we are finally greeted with the 20-year-old’s debut record.
It’s remarkable that Beabadoobee is still so young given how prolific she’s been over the last few years.
A string of successful EP’s namely Patched Up, Loveworm and Space Cadet marked the young singer-songwriter as one to watch and she’s emphatically delivered with bedroom-pop hits including ‘If You Want To’, ‘Disappear’ and ‘She Plays Bass’.
Each of Beabadoobee’s EP’s offered something a little different but have mostly improved with each release, last year’s effort Space Cadet seemed to solidify a fun, grunge-driven, bedroom-pop sound.
And that’s not to mention the TikTok inspired megahit Death Bed from Canadian bedroom-pop rapper Powfu that samples Beabadoobee’s Coffee heavily in its chorus.
The heart of Beabadoobee’s appeal lies in relatable lyrics, engaging melodies and her general sense of revelling in the enjoyment of playing guitar for a living, as seen so effectively in other young singer-songwriters like Lauran Hibberd and Soccer Mommy.
Now, with her debut album Fake it Flowers Beabadoobee is trying to capture that revelry, with mixed results.
Opener and lead single Care is an indicator for the kind of album Fake it Flowers will be.
Brash, catchy and invigorating ‘Care’ sets a high standard for the record from the get-go.
Second track Worth It arguably raises the bar even higher.
A standout track for the album Worth It is an exciting grunge tune that traverses between a bombastic chorus centred around an electrifying guitar riff and a wistful, vulnerable verse that exposes Beabadoobee’s frailties gracefully.
Lyrics such as “You’re a bit more fucked but I guess that’s fine, maybe that’s what I want this time” stick in your head and are remarkably astute from such a young writer.
Unfortunately, this is the point where the album starts to stumble. Third track ‘Dye it Red’ is easily the least convincing song on the record.
This is made all the more evident by the decision to place it third in the running order, just after the albums two most fully-formed songs.
Lyrically the song is painfully one-note compared to the rest of the album.
The opening line “Kiss my ass, you don’t know jack, and if you say you understand, you don’t” is woeful in comparison to some of the stronger lyrics on the album.
What becomes evident at this point in the album is just how seriously Beabadoobee is taking the project, understandably so given that it’s her debut record.
But unfortunately, it feels as if the sense of fun that was so prevalent on her earlier EP’s is missing here.
Tracks four to six pass by with little to say for themselves except that they fit the grunge aesthetic Beabadoobee is going for on Fake it Flowers.
Charlie Brown is the strongest of the three with an engaging screamy chorus, although the verse leaves a little to be desired.
It’s not until the seventh track, and indeed the second single from the album, ‘Sorry’, that the album starts to gain momentum again.
The song builds and builds with a singular guitar line behind Beabadoobee’s strongest vocals on the record.
The bravery of holding out on the big guitar-driven chorus until the last 30 seconds of the song pays off massively and goes to show that when Beabadoobee gets it right she really gets it right.
With a chorus that’s positively brimming in melancholy ‘Sorry’ delivers insightful lyrics with aplomb “And it hurts me, that you could be the one that deserves this even more, but you stayed in the same dark place that I adore.”
Unfortunately, the album stumbles once again with ‘Further Away’ and ‘Horen Sarrison’ which struggle to justify their inclusion.
At 12 tracks long you get the sense Fake it Flowers slightly overstretches itself.
Perhaps a sharper, 10 track record closer in runtime to Beabadoobee’s earlier EP’s would have been beneficial.
That being said I would always rather an artist take a swing and miss than play it safe.
Beabadoobee has clearly gone for it in trying to craft a sprawling grunge-pop album, and for the most part, it has paid off, but unfortunately, there are a few tracks on this album that could have been left on the cutting room floor.
The record looks to end strongly with meandering acoustic love-song How Was Your Day and another engaging grunge track ‘Together’.
Both tracks work well in completely different spheres which just goes to show how talented Beabadoobee is as a songwriter.
“This song is about the dependency you have with someone and missing that when you’re away and learning to be by yourself. It’s written from that point when you’re feeling alone and thinking everything is better when you’re with that other person.”
Beabadoobee on single ‘Together’
I wish the album ended there though as finisher ‘Yoshimi, Forest, Magdalene’ left me underwhelmed with some iffy lyrics “He smells very nice, oh so nice, wears clothes that I like.”
In the build-up to the release of the album Beabadoobee described Fake it Flowers as “a record for girls to cry to and dance to and get angry too.”
In that sense, she has largely succeeded as Fake it Flowers offers all those things in spades.
I just wish it offered some of the fun and odd songwriting we’d become so accustomed to on her earlier releases with tracks like ‘Art Class’ and ‘I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus’.
That being said, it’s hardly Beabadoobee’s fault that at just 20-years-old she has already set herself such an incredibly high standard.
If anything it’s a testament to the strength of her songwriting up until this point.
On the whole Fake it Flowers is an accomplished grunge-inspired debut album from one of the most exciting talents in the UK.
I would have liked to have seen the album slightly trimmed down and with a stronger emphasis on some of Beabadoobee’s pop leanings that have been so engaging to listen to before, but there’s always next time.
Fans won’t have long to wait either with Beabadoobee reportedly preparing to release a project with label mates at Dirty Hit and all-round indie superstars The 1975 in the near future.
Until then though, there’s plenty to enjoy on Fake it Flowers, you might just have to skip a few tracks.
Featured image by Callum Harrison
