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