Continuing the biggest momentum of your career thus far (2022’s Beatopia) is a daunting task on its own. To do it with extensive care and reverence for the craft is just as complicated. The presence of “death bed (coffee for your head)” by Christian hip-hop artist Powfu at the top of beabadoobie’s most-streamed songs is nothing short of a shame, as “death bed” loops a sped up sample of Bea Laus’s first single, “Coffee,” an acoustic ditty she wrote at 17. The artistry and innate musical instincts of the now 24-year-old Laus has found her striking gold and zeroing in on her strengths on her third LP, This is How Tomorrow Moves.
Produced by the legendary Rick Rubin (as well as Jake Bugden, a member of Laus’s band) at Shangri-La studios in Malibu, This is How Tomorrow Moves unsurprisingly has a litany of stellar guitar work. Album opener and lead single “Take a Bite” came as a juxtaposition from the sugary simplicity of beabadoobie’s 2023 standalone singles, “Glue Song” and “the way things go,” the former being her biggest hit outside of “death bed.” Sharp and cleverly crafted, “Take a Bite” is beaming with the sassiness and sincerity that would come to emanate throughout the entire record. “Sure it’s easy to talk / But I take it and eat it with a cherry on top / Indulging in situations that are fabricated imaginations / Moments that cease to exist,” she begins in a talk-singing cadence.
Laus has a knack for writing about infatuation, which is why it comes as no surprise that each song on This is How Tomorrow Moves pertaining to that subject matter is an immediate standout. “Ever Seen” is a charming and sweet tune about Laus finding surety in herself through the love she and her boyfriend harbor towards each other. “I spent some time waiting for your face / Don’t want to risk just making all the same mistakes / The highest I think I’ve ever been / Said I had the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen,” she croons during the choruses, dueting with a gorgeous, dynamic build of driving drums and brass. The tender jazziness of “Everything I Want” compliments the airiness of Laus’s voice beautifully, complete with an always welcome use of vibraslap. The song thrives through the simplicity and charming forwardness of a jazz standard, as she professes “Now I see, the weather’s got me down / But like the sun you’ll come around / I had finally figured out you were just around the corner.”
Even more so than the tender love songs that beabadoobee has become known for, the throughline of adapting from the disappointments and frustrations of young adulthood are tackled with poise and self-awareness—alongside consistently engaging instrumentals from Bugden and a handful of seasoned session musicians enlisted for the project (Luca Caruso, Carla Azar, Will Grafe, Benny Bock). The biting “Real Man” oozes with personality to the point of theatrics, with a snappiness reminiscent of “All That Jazz” from Chicago. “And I already told you, I’m not part of the band / Please excuse me just for thinking it’s a fleeting romance / I guess no one ever taught you how to be a real man,” Laus beckons in a verse packed with a wink and a smile.
Being the first album cycle since Laus’s split from a partner of seven years, much of this record feels like an exposé. “Keep on faking just to make it / What’s the point of fixing problems? / When it’s broken, we were shameless and we never try to solve them,” she repeats alongside expansive electric guitars on “One Time” as it comes to a screeching halt. Laus may sound angry, but she’s equally pensive and aware of how to recalibrate accordingly. After taking an opening slot for a month of the Eras Tour last year, she took a page from the Swiftian Bible by laying everything out on the line for dedicated fans to sink their teeth into on “This is How It Went.”
Complete with an Elliott Smith name-drop and subtle nods to her ex’s occupation as a director, “This is How It Went” shoots to kill regardless of how well-versed the listener is with the song’s context. Laus takes the moral high ground over a ditsy waltz of delicate acoustic guitar and piano doubling her vocal melody. “Just let me write a song like all the songs I love to listen to / Writing cause I’m healing, never writing songs to hurt you / Using what I’m best at and I hope you do the same,” she pleads. Moving on from disappointments are displayed on this record from several angles (from her father on “Tie My Shoes” and from her own insecurities on “California” and “Girl Song”), and they’re consistently handled with poise and nuance. This is How Tomorrow Moves captures beabadoobee dipping her toes into several spheres of influence with the guiding hand of a producer so prolific that he lingers as an omnipotent force throughout. Having written songs since adolescence, it’s no question that Laus has developed whip-smart musical instincts, which have come to fruition on her best and most well-rounded work yet.
