Beabadoobee’s sophomore album has many the same drawbacks as her debut, but succeeds greater on its particular terms.

“But whilst I do have my gripes with Beatopia, I’m finding it much easier to enjoy than Fake It Flowers.  I do think it’s too long, I do think it could do with losing three or four tracks, and I do think that the production job is a hinderance just as often as it’s a help.  Yet it’s one of those records which I feel largely accomplishes exactly what it wants to achieve.  Especially on my first spin, I found myself hung up on the lack of straight bangers and the uniform vibes nature of the album caused my mind to wander much quicker than it would on repeat listens.  In pre-release press, Bea has talked about this being a fully cohesive record, from the music to the album cover – which is… certainly a choice of artwork – and I cannot argue with that.  Fake It felt like one of those debuts where an artist was trying to figure themselves out in real-time; Beatopia has a confidence and clarity of vision that immediately marks it as a major step up even if it’s the kind of album I need to be in the right mindset to fully appreciate.”

Full review exclusively on Soundsphere Magazine (link).

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