beabadoobee’s inconsistent debut 'fake it flowers' shows promise but not polish
By Anders Dahl
Art by Sarah Dean
You may be wondering: why hasn’t Ease Up posted a review of Beabadoobee’s debut LP Fake It Flowers yet? This fits their demographic better than anything other than indie boy bands. I could try to make up an excuse, but really I’m just lazy. Let’s get on with it.
I was excited about this project, seeing as I was a huge fan of her last EP, Space Cadet. The sassy, rockier sound she was growing into fit her and the band well, and I was excited to see where they would take it. In hindsight, I shouldn't have gotten ahead of myself, because what we got was more than a bit of a mess. There are highs, there are lows, and a lot of that middle ground that goes in one ear and out the other.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some absolute bangers on this album. "Sorry" stands out as the high point of the album, with an off-kilter, swelling intro that explodes into crunchy guitar and booming drums at the two-minute mark, building up a wall of sound that just never gets dull. The best songs on Fake It Flowers stem from this same loudness, "Charlie Brown," "Together," and "Care" are both tremendously catchy songs that ride on Beabadoobee’s penchant for loud guitar and her drummer’s penchant for being fucking sick. The last song of note (at least in a positive sense) is the closer: "Yoshimi, Forest, Magdalene." This track somehow sounds like it’s constantly about to fall apart while still carrying momentum. The crazed, childish tone of the vocals adds to the offness of the track, and make it a thoroughly interesting listen.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have the abomination that is "Horen Sarrison." This is a six-minute song that somehow manages to go absolutely nowhere, seemingly banking on cheesy lyrics (“You are the bus that stayed when I thought I was late / So I’m convinced you’re from outer space”) to stay relevant. This is the only outright bad song on the album, but it’s enough to keep me from listening to it more often.
The remainder of the album is summed up well by the track "Dye It Red" (Who capitalizes "it"?), which opens with a forgettable verse and half-assed lyrics before diving into a hook that never ceases to lodge itself in my ear. "Emo Song" features some cool synths and "Worth It" is fun, if not a bit grating, but other than that, the remaining four songs are a slew of forgettable, pedantic musings.
The real downfall of this release, however, is the pacing. It’s an indescribably maddening listen; it plays like you hit shuffle on one of those prog-rock concept albums where each song merges perfectly into the next. It never gets into a rhythm, going from fast to slow to acoustic to fast far too quickly. While I’m not much of a lyric person, I think these inconsistencies stem from the decision to make the lyrical content more cohesive. The first three tracks are rebellious before melancholy and depression take hold through the middle of the album. During the final four songs, Beabadoobee is pulling herself out of the hole she’s created, with her happiness centering around her partner.
Fake It Flowers, while being far from perfect, is definitely an interesting release. I found its inconsistencies to be a bit of a deterrent, but it provides a good stepping stone for Beabadoobee as she grows into her sound, and herself.