Beatrice Laus, also known as “Beabadoobee,” released her debut album “Fake It Flowers” on Oct. 16. Her career has been incredible to watch, accumulating 17 million monthly listeners at just 20 years old.  

I found Bea as many others did: through TikTok. Her song “Coffee” was used as a byte in rapper Powfu’s song “Death Bed.” The lyrics played through on repeat, the same few lyrics looping round like a carousel. When I looked her up on Spotify, I was happily surprised by the music I was hearing.  

Bea started making music back in 2018, picked up by independent record label Dirty Hit, whose been known to pick up alternative British artists in the past (such as the 1975). She had four EP’s that showed a progression from bedroom pop to more 90’s grunge inspired.  

As I listened to her music, I really fell for her beautiful voice and nostalgic sound. As a kid growing up with a dad who was engulfed headfirst in 90’s burnout/grunge culture in his early adult years, I grew up listening to bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains and Nirvana. When I played “She Plays Bass” for my dad in the car, he remarked that it sounded straight out of his era.  

“Fake It Flowers” was an album I was intrigued by the day I saw the notification of its release. The album starts off with “Care” which sets the mood for the angst that is heard throughout the entire album. There is a lot of unresolved anger and pain that is let out, starting at this first song in the album. She sings like she’s had a million thoughts and feelings, and the play button on your phone was a Pandora’s box. Each song on the album blends into each other, which Bea says in an interview with an interview with Apple Music, was purposeful. Bea’s choice to make the album composition so smooth is something I really enjoyed and is somewhat of a lost art with today’s ability to skip around or shuffle an album.  

“Worth It” follows “Care,” another song that really stuck out to me. Bea describes the song as one of teen infidelity, and more broadly, relying on unhealthy habits. Her lyrics really sit with me, the words biting me more than the average because of how raw and realistic her words are to me.  

“Emo Song” is the saddest song on the album according to Bea, and I agree. She alludes to her distrust in the men in her life, the mistakes she’s made with drugs. She’s an imperfect person and has a past. This reflection pains her, to the point where she says in an interview with Vice that she wasn’t even ready to perform it live.  

Just as she did in her EP “Space Cadet,” my personal favorite work before “Fake It Flowers,” she repeatedly uses the metaphor of Space. Space, in her songs is an escapist fantasy. She uses it describe her long-term boyfriend, Horen Sarrison, whom she dedicated a song to in the album and has dated for years.  

I think my personal favorite song is “How Was Your Day?” It is so vulnerable and raw. It’s probably the slowest song in the album, and it genuinely could make me cry with the beauty of the lyrics. I interpret the song as a failing relationship, a strain, a hopeless love. She wants to feel something new with them again, but they have fallen so far apart they don’t even fight.  

“You used to miss me  

Guess it’s not hard to believe  

That things have to change like the weather and the days” 

The last song on the in the album is “Yoshimi, Forest, Magdalene.” Through this song she details how she plans to name her future children these names. In attempt to hide her infatuation with her lover, she doesn’t want to scare him off with the heavy commitment, which isn’t helped with her lack of trust in men that was mentioned earlier in the album. It is genuinely the most light-hearted song in the entire album, and it’s a cute concept that many lovestruck have thought about. I personally love the names she chose too, and overall, feel like I know her to a deeply personal level.  

I have to give this album a rave and my full recommendation. Never have I ever fallen in love with a storyline the way I did with her. Researching her lyrics, making my own interpretations and reading the interviews, I feel like we’re now close friends. Beabadoobee is genuinely a voice for young teens, especially girls, who are struggling. She lets out all of her emotions and creates an atmosphere of relatability I haven’t felt with an artist in a while. If you have time, check this album out and take a look into the vulnerable, paining and beautiful world of Bea Laus.