redpine

I guess at this point I'm just working my way through all of her work... It seemed only fair to write about the game changer of an EP that is Space Cadet as it marks the definitive start of a new era for bea.

Space Cadet was her fourth release under Dirty Hit and marked the biggest change to her style of perhaps any of her EPs or albums. This EP was a shock to bea's fans at the time and bea herself even acknowledged some concerns that her fans would not like it

“Also my new EP is like...I'm scared that people won't like it. But I like it. So I don't care” – beabadoobee in a backstage interview for NME

She couldn't be more wrong, however, Songs such as “She Plays Bass” and “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus” became icons of a new age of bea's music with “She Plays Bass” featuring at almost every live show since due to its popularity. The aspect that defined this EP and marked a serious change in her style was the adoption of a more fast-paced, loud, and gnarly indie rock sound. Something she had somewhat experimented with In her EP Loveworm released earlier that year.

This EP focuses on a weird mix of themes through its tracks, from confusion to anger and even some mentions of love, this mix creates the perfect storm of wild insanity that blends perfectly with the new style of indie rock. This mix is most clear in “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus” with references to what i'm guessing is her then-boyfriend Soren's endeavors “'Cause your photos suck. your brand is shit You're up your butt.” This EP is all about being misunderstood and wanting to just exist without persecution.

This EP also featured heavily in the setlist when I went to see her live as it was released only one month before. The mix of these crazy loud, fast, and intense songs with a tiny Brighton venue led to a seriously wild gig. This EP marked a new, much more open era of beabadoobee music that went on to define who she is now. There is no knowing what she'll do next with her ever-changing brand and style, some of her songs featured on later albums such as “Fake It Flowers” were already written at this stage in her career but were yet to be seen outside of the odd Instagram live performance.

This era of bea is one that is cherished by longtime fans and one that defined her as an artist and in my case had a particular and profound impact on me, that, as I've already stated cannot be expressed in words but I've tried my best. I highly recommend going and listening to all of these EPs

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

this post is the final of a three-part mini series about this change in bea's style. I might write more about her newer music at some point... in the meantime go check out my posts on Loveworm and Patched Up!

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After my post about Patched Up It would be criminal of me not to write a bit about Loveworm and the part it played in the movement towards a new era of music from beabadoobee. This EP was the third project from bea under Dirty Hit released near the start of 2019. Loveworm is the first project of bea's to experiment with a move towards indie rock and away from a slower folk style. Tracks in this EP don't fully commit to this change and it is obvious why as beabadoobee gained her popularity through mostly solo projects with her just writing music in her room and uploading it to the internet as well as some collaborative work with Oscar Lang these first songs were slow, dreamy and simple. A far cry from the more indie pop style music she releases now.

As expected every song in this EP focuses on the theme of love with an emphasis on the ups, downs, and confusion integral to teenage relationships. The final song entitled “Soren” acting as tribute of sorts to her then-boyfriend Soren Harrison. bea has mentioned how the EP was formed around a rough patch in her relationship.

“I remember him [soren] calling me after listening to the whole EP, and he was like, “I figured out a lot of things,” and I said, “Holy shit, thanks Loveworm!”” – beabadoobee in an interview with Graham Corrigan for Complex UK

This EP was released shortly before I got to experience a bea gig, and it was prominently featured in the setlist, which included “Apple Cider,” “Disappear,” “Angel,” “Ceilings,” and “You Lie All The Time.” Since bea now has wayy more music, some of these classic songs are rarely performed at recent concerts. Making this setlist highly sought after by longtime Bea fans.

The overwhelming popularity of the less indie-folk style tracks such as Apple Cider clearly gave bea more courage to pursue this style more in the future with her next EP “Space Cadet” leaning hard into this*...

* I've written a post about Space Cadet, which will be out soon :D

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I have been enjoying beabadoobee much more recently after giving her most recent release This Is How Tomorrow Moves (TIHTM) another go. This sudden forgiveness was a result of a musical epiphany or perhaps enlightening I experienced after listening to WHOLESOME EVIL FANTASY (WEF) by a gummy bear possessed Indigo De Souza. The tragic turn away from musical genius in WEF put bea's music into perspective and really made me appreciate her ability to produce both instant classics and genuine bangers consistently.

This brief post won't, however, be about Indigo De Souza's woeful downfall nor will it be about my newfound appreciation of TIHTM. In this post, I wanted to focus on a classic EP from bea “Patched Up”. This EP was the second project released from bea under Dirty Hit only shortly after her first real EP Lice, this EP, in my opinion really helped her progress as an artist as it acts as a much-needed step between the songs of the early bedroom sessions and self-published songs on youtube and her much beloved fast pace, loud and well-produced music in Loveworm and Space Cadet. Particularly the tracks “If You Want To” and “Tired” helped boost her career to new heights and inspired a new age of beabadoobee.

Pathed Up perfectly encapsulates what was loved about early bea and what helped her get recognition in the first place. The songs are slow and calm however they carry themes of sadness, love, and fear of growing up. She was loved for her relatable and open lyrics and raw simple guitar all present in this EP. This era of bea was a special time in her progression as an artist giving insight into her relationship with then-boyfriend Soren and her struggles with growing up and dealing with the emotional turmoil of coming of age present most in the aptly named “Eighteen”.

This EP means a lot to me as it was the most recent release when I was first introduced to her. Her music, style, and general ethos had a lasting impact on my life as it came to me at a formative time. Being close in age to bea made the music much more relatable. The “Soren artistic style”* and phuggers brand was something that really connected with me and inspired me. I'm thankful that I got to experience a live show from bea in 2019 when this was closest to me and it can now remain with me as a fond memory of a different part of my life.

Its impossible to properly express what this EP meant to me at the time in one shoddy blog post. Its a classic case of “you had to be there” but in this case you had to be there and be me.

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*The music video for If You Want To presents this artistic style the most and I highly recommend checking it out.

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I realise that making this post long after my Sky Hundred post seems backward but I just never really appreciated this album until now

At first, I dismissed this album. Upon first discovering Parannoul, I, like many, listened to their entire discography to find hidden gems. This led me to songs such as Into the Endless Night and my favorites from TSTNPOTD such as Analog Sentimentalism and White Ceiling however upon first listening to After the Magic my only real takeaway was “that Polaris song was unique”... After listening to Sky Hundred on release it was clear to me now that After the Magic was unique. Sky Hundred like TSTNPOTD was harsh and raw yet familiar to Parannoul listeners. It was fast-paced and loud. This isn't the case with After the Magic, the songs are slow, quiet, and sometimes even relaxing. Being the second large project out of Parannoul the singing is still similarly raw and untrained as in TSTNPOTD. Parannoul states their motivation behind this work:

“I'm always afraid of when things I enjoy now will disappear and when people will leave my side. I think it's a kind of magic where everything shines brightly for a moment and then disappears as if nothing had happened.“-Parannoul on bandcamp*

Parannoul claims this album was inspired by a dream. The tracks in the album follow a sort of narrative as it attempts to express the dream to the listeners with each track somewhat linearly representing stages through the dream from start to end. There is an emphasis on impermanence linking the classic case of forgetting a dream shortly after it is over and Parannoul's previously stated fear that “things I enjoy now will disappear “.

For me this album is a welcome change from TSTNPOTD and rest bite after listening to Sky Hundred. Its songs are unique to this album in their almost “twinkly” nature. Some of my favorites are Insomnia due to an intense yet catchy percussive section and sudden changes in tempo and noise as well as Blossom for its almost crazed ending as it winds down to the end of the album.

This album was a collaborative work featuring some vocals from Della Zyr and Guitar by Asian Glow I highly recommend checking them out as they also produce amazing music.

*this quote was re-translated as I thought it was more clear than the Bandcamp translation

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In characteristic Parannoul fashion this album was dropped out of the blue to youtube and bandcamp a few days before it was avaliable for streaming on spotify. I was scrolling youtube as you do and was suddenly recommended this having been released less than an hour ago. Jumping right in it was clear that this album is a game changer for Parannoul.

The first thing to recognise is the significant improvment in the vocals. Many fans appriciate the raw and amature vocals in “To See the Next Part of the Dream” as do I. However parannoul claims himself that “he had never played a guitar while he was 21, his singing skills are fucking awful” when describing who TSTNPOTD describes and incapsulates. In Sky Hundred the vocals are still raw but greatly improved and appreciated.

The first songs of this album, one of which is Gold River a single released before the album really throw you in the deep end with super distorted gnarly drums. When I first listend to Gold River it was a genuine shock coming right from After the Magic.

This album is about change. It has a focus on personal development and loss. In my opinion this album vaugely follows the stages of grief. This being grief of change and the inevitable loss that follows.

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“Time passes no matter you're wandering or not. The people who seemed to always be here together are leaving, and the feelings I felt when I made my 2021 began to disappear. ” – Parannoul

Parannoul describes the motivation behind this album. His description to no ones suprise does a much better job than I can at explaining the core of the album. His description talks about his personal feelings of change and how he interprets change. It questions the importance of you in the present and the feelings you feel and puts and emphasis on how you were in the past.

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This album is comparatively much more harsh than After the Magic but in similar fashion lets you melt into the music. There are much more I can say about this album and I did but removed it!!

This album is a must listen! I would rate it 9/10