beabadoobee is an artist you most definitely would have heard of by now if you know me personally and we talk somewhat frequently. I am the type of person that is constantly sending the people in my life new music to check out(my love for spreading good music to people goes beyond this blog), and I have sent music by beabadoobee to so many people at this point. If you have been following this blog for a while, you should also know about my love for beabadoobee’s music; ever since I started listening to her about a year and a half ago, I have sung her praise on this blog multiple times. beabadoobee is the stage name for Beatrice Laus, a 21-year-old Filipino woman based in Britain who has had a meteoric rise since she first started making music a few years ago. beabadoobee originally blew up online in late 2017 with her song ‘Coffee;’ the initial success of this track got her signed to Dirty Hit Records, and with the help of Dirty Hit she released her two EPs Lice and Patched Up in 2018. She followed this with her EPs Loveworm and Space Cadet in 2019, the second of which landed her on the cover of NME Magazine(two of my favorite beabadoobee songs to this day, ‘I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus’ and ‘She Plays Bass, are on Space Cadet). Her debut single ‘Coffee’ ended up being sampled by rapper Powfu in early 2020 on his song ‘Death Bed(Coffee for your Head);’ this track blew up on Tik Tok in a huge way, and it catapulted beabadoobee to a level of stardom and success she had never been close to up until this point. In October of 2020, beabadoobee released her debut album, ‘Fake It Flowers’ to critical acclaim. If you are into any kind of 90s Rock, beabadoobee has made music that you will enjoy. Her sound has ranged from incorporating elements of 90s Punk, Grunge, Slacker Rock, and Contemporary Alternative; she always puts a modern Indie Rock and Pop Rock flair to her music, though, making it still very accessible for young Alternative music listeners. Her latest project, Our Extended Play, was released as a sort of buffer for fans to enjoy while she works on her second full-length album. This EP is produced by Matty Healy of The 1975, who is one of her label mates at Dirty Hit Records. With all of that being said, here is how I feel about beabadoobee’s newest EP Our Extended Play. Please let me know in the comments below how you feel about this EP, and also let me know in the comments what your favorite songs are from Our Extended Play.
Our Extended Play gets started with ‘Last Day On Earth,’ the only single released before this EP coming out. This was one of my favorite songs from the first half of 2021. On ‘Last Day On Earth,’ beabadoobee dives headfirst into the Slacker Rock and Contemporary Alternative sounds that became somewhat prevalent on her last album. beabadoobee in the past has typically gone with a bit of a more distorted alternative and gritty Punk sound, but on certain songs from her last album and this whole EP she takes a softer approach. ‘Last Day On Earth’ has a melody and overall flow the song that makes me smile whenever I hear it; it has an extremely pleasant overall sound. On this track, beabadoobee takes a lighter mentality on the COVID crisis, stating all of the fun things she would do and all the happiness she would try to have if the world really was ending. The next song, ‘Cologne,’ combines elements of her more harsh Alternative style of music and her softer Slacker Rock style of music. It meshes the harder side of her sound and the lighter side of her sound in a very natural and smooth way. On ‘Cologne, there are segments of the song that remind me of Smashing Pumpkins, while there are other sections of the song that remind me of Sheryl Crow. There is even a breakdown near the end of the song which sound like some weird crazy Hardcore Punk. ‘Cologne’ is a song that is exclusively about wanting and having sex. Interestingly enough, there is a line in the chorus where Bea goes “I hate what this song is about.” It is almost like she is embarrassed to talk about this kind of stuff, but it was feeling she just needed to get out. Following this, we get ‘Animal Noises,’ which is the softest and sweetest song I have heard beabadoobee make up until this point. If someone would have played me this song without telling me it was by beabadoobee, I honestly do not know if I would have been able to guess she made it. Her vocals are recognizable(especially at the end of the song), but it is so different from anything I have heard from her I probably would have guessed it was a new artist I had not heard of. This track starts with an Acoustic Pop sound, which transitions into a Chamber Pop sound and eventually evolves into a Jam Band Rock sound. The way that ‘Animal Noises’ progresses is bold and grand, and it shows off a side to beabadoobee that I never knew she had. ‘Animal Noises,’ is a reflective and somber song about growing up and how scary it can be. On this track, beabadoobee is reminiscing on all of the simpler times in her life, wishing she could go back to when she did not have to worry about so much stuff all of the time. Our Extended Play closes out with ‘He Gets Me So High,’ which is another song that has the Contemporary Alternative and Slacker Rock feeling to it that the first song from the project had. This track has a more calm and easy-going sound than ‘Last Day On Earth,’ though. This is the kind of song one would expect to hear in a coming-of-age movie. It would be perfect in movies like She’s All That or ‘10 Things I Hate About You.’ On ‘He Gets Me So High,’ beabadoobee is singing about how in love she is with her boyfriend. It is a very sweet and cute track where she expresses how much she adores her partner. This is a great way to end the project, as it is so catchy and rounds of the EP in a succinct way.
It is easy to see why beabadoobee has seen so much success even though she has not been around in the music world for very long. She has a sweet voice that is so easy to listen to, she writes relatable and vulnerable lyrics, and she is influenced by a style of music and period that has become beloved by people around her age. 90s culture and fashion are very popular these days, and making music that has elements of what was big during this time period draws the people who love the culture. On Our Extended Play, beabadoobee dives further into the sounds and kinds of music she incorporated into her last album. It does not differentiate from the sounds of her last album much; in fact, it is almost like an extension of this record. Our Extended Play is not the most creative piece of music beabadoobee has ever put out, but it serves as a perfect buffer as we wait for whatever Bea decides to do next. Until beabadoobee’s next record comes out, I will be more than happy to bump this EP in preparation.
EAST SIDE VIBES 