March 19, 2024

‘Fake it Flowers’ by Beabadoobee- A Fully Blossomed Masterpiece

A grunge icon for today’s generation, Beabadoobee’s debut album ‘Fake it Flowers’ cements this idea, as it is full of indie anthems in Bea’s words that are, ‘for girls to cry to and dance to and get angry to. It’s all about, like, how annoying it is to be a girl.’

Bea’s female indie influences are very prominent throughout the album, as there are hints of nineties artists such as ‘The Cranberries’, ‘Hole’ and Alanis Morissette throughout. A particularly outstanding song from Bea’s debut, ‘Charlie Brown’, screams ‘Hole’ vibes as not only can you hear the angst and passion as Bea screams ‘Throw it away’ against the thrashing drums, you can feel it. The song outpours emotion, as you feel every inch of Bea that she has put into it. This is similar to ‘Together’ later on in the album; as the listener you feel the energy and rage within Bea bursting amongst the array of guitars and drums used in the piece.

Along with providing listeners with a barrage of angsty anthems, Beabadoobee balances ‘Fake it Flowers’ out with more calming and poetic pieces sounding similar to ‘The Cranberries’- a huge influence of hers. ‘Further Away’ is a floaty, ethereal track, which is also similar to ‘Emo Song’ with lyrics such as ‘I lost myself in cosmic dust’ giving her work a magical, unworldly feel.

Bea is very clever with her use of words and this is particularly prominent in ‘Horen Sarrison’ as she sings lines such as ‘You are the smell of pavement after the rain/ You are the last empty seat on a train’. Bea makes her work relatable which makes the album and her previous works so engaging, as people can understand it on a personal level, as they know exactly how she feels and what she means. This is what makes ‘Fake it Flowers’ such a wonderful debut, as for all of the teen girls that Beabadoobee is reaching out to she has said ‘it’s so heartwarming to know that I’ve helped these people somehow, in some way, to be more comfortable with themselves,’ which is something that Bea’s music continues to do as her debut is full relatable emotions for teen girls, of growing up and becoming their own person.

This could not be more prominent than in ‘Dye it Red.’ A 90s sounding track from Bea, she unapologetically sings ‘Let me cut my hair and dye it red if I want to’ which I feel is one of the key moments for Beabadoobee in the album. Not only does it show how Beabadoobee has matured since previous releases such as ‘If You Want To’ where she depicts herself as cautious and worried about how she affects the other person to now having an independent and confident manner, which she breezily conveys to her audience. The fact that she refers to dyeing her hair is poignant as Bea sees her different coloured hair phases as different development points in her life with her seeing current blonde-haired Bea as ‘Not playing around Bea. Serious Bea.’ This statement is something that could not be more true, as ‘Fake it Flowers’ truly shows a mature-sounding Beabadoobee, who has shown teen girls how cool it is to pick up an electric guitar.

‘Fake it Flowers’ is out 16th October.

SEPTEMBER 2021

Tue 07 Manchester O2 Ritz
Thu 09 Leeds Beckett University
Fri 10 Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Sat 11 Birmingham O2 Institute
Mon 13 Cambridge Junction
Tue 14 Leicester O2 Academy
Thu 23 London O2 London Kentish Town Forum
Fri 24 Bristol SWX
Sat 25 Oxford O2 Academy
Tue 28 Dublin Academy
Wed 29 Belfast Oh Yeah Music Centre

OCTOBER 2021

Sat 02 Newcastle University Students Union
Sun 03 Edinburgh Liquid Room
Mon 04 Glasgow SWG 3

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