beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves

beabadoobee is adept at changing her style so gradually that you barely even notice that she has. Compare her third album 'This Is How Tomorrow Moves' to her 2020 debut 'Fake It Flowers', and it's evident just how much she's transformed over the last four years.

The top of the album, namely lead single 'Take A Bite' and full-throated shoegaze banger 'California', are a brief foray into her DIY-rock roots, something that the fuzzy guitar lines of 'Post' and 'Beaches' continue in the core of the record. Nonetheless, this is definitely an album more akin to her second LP 'Beatopia', retaining the emotive ethereality she so masterfully crafted alongside a layer of polish and production to proceedings (with the help of super-producer Rick Rubin).

The biggest change from anything she's done before is a shift toward jazz-pop, most clearly embodied by the laid-back, 1950s swing feel dotted across the record. The jaunty piano and muffled drums of 'Real Man' let her voice take centre stage as she drags an ex, whilst the waltz-like 'Coming Home' provides an opportunity to pay tribute to her current partner. Drawing on influences such as Elliott Smith, The Beatles, and Fiona Apple, the album is lyrically pretty to the point, allowing her to vulnerably and honestly explore grief in 'The Man Who Left Too Soon' and gendered pressure in 'Girl Song'.

'This Is How Tomorrow Moves' is a remarkably assured record. It's technically almost perfect, which in some ways detracts from the overall atmosphere of the album, making some parts feel almost superficial and out-of-reach. The moments where beabadoobee lets her inner rock god out, though, keep it just grounded enough to keep you interested. Maybe it's not her best, but it is still a very strong album.