Beatopia

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In the two years since her debut was released, beabadoobee has gone from her teen years to her twenties and grown tremendously—effortlessly transferring her lo-fi bedroom pop to a much bigger sound that's still tingling with life. "Talk" is full of '90s jubilance, pumped up with booming bass and a fuzzed-out chorus. She has said she wrote the song about going out on Tuesday nights: "not too much chaos but just enough to have a good time." But it's also about exploring boundaries as you get older—and, in her case, more famous. "Generally, it’s about doing things that aren’t necessarily healthy or great for you, but you can’t help indulging." See also: "See you Soon," which beabadoobee has said "is meant to make you feel like you’re tripping on shrooms." The guitars on "10:36" explode at the bridge in a fit of sunshine, and it's thrilling after hearing the potential on her first record. beabadoobee also gets more experimental with genres, playing around with café pop and bossa nova on "the perfect pair," which expands during the last minute to become one of her most fully rounded songs yet. Free-floating "Beatopia Cultsong" has jug-band lazy-river vibes, the vocals gaining layers with each line before fading out. "Ripples" employs gentle strings and a McCartney-esque melody, the ambience so intimate you can hear fingers sliding on acoustic guitar strings. There are, as expected, moments of shoegaze goodness, on "Don't get the deal" and pretty "Pictures of Us"—which flips the script by keeping the music clear-headed and washing her vocals in a big blur. With its moments of thumping drums, naif melody and spacey background vocals, "fairy song" could easily be recast as a Flaming Lips track. "Lovesong" flutters with butterfly lightness, "tinkerbell is overrated" is especially energetic and catchy folk pop, and "You're here that's the thing" is a cute little retro ditty, à la Lily Allen, that will no doubt be a live fan favorite (singalong-ready lyrics: "When the lights go down/ don't say I didn't warn you/ I don't think that's legal/ in the state of California"). And while she still fits perfectly alongside peers including Clairo, Jay Som and Snail Mail, like them beabadoobee has expanded her worldview, even adding a neo-soul sheen to the folky pop of "Sunny day." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz