Beabadoobee’s “This Is How Tomorrow Moves” feels like a love letter to womanhood, written in pencil with plenty of eraser marks. In her fifth studio album since 2018, she’s clearly evolving and stepping away from the well-worn themes she’s spun into gold with her earlier work. Yet, there’s a sense she’s still figuring it all out. She’s flipping through an old diary where she rambles about growing up, but in a way that almost diminishes her experiences.
This album sounds like her previous album,“Beatopia,” decided to take a long, thoughtful walk, maturing in its reflections, but still tripping over its own shoelaces at times. There’s a newfound awareness of the world around her, but ironically, some moments feel less mature than before—looking at you, the bridge on “One Time.”
Certain tracks on this album are like puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit. The piano ballad on “Girl Song” is so syrupy sweet and slow that it clashes with the anxious undertones of the album, making it feel like it belongs in a different one altogether. And then there’s the jazzy horns at the end of “Tie My Shoes,” which hit like a surprise splash of cold water when you were just starting to enjoy the gentle breeze from your ceiling fan. “Take A Bite” as the opening track feels like a bait-and-switch—the energy is all there, but the songs that follow can’t quite keep up, leaving you wondering if you accidentally shuffled the album.
Individually, each track has the potential to be a gem, but as a collective, the album feels like a movie with no plot. A little tracklist shuffle could do wonders, bringing some much-needed cohesiveness to the listening experience.
But let’s not forget what Beabadoobee does best—she sticks to her roots with that wonderfully meandering, diary-esque writing style. It’s one of the things that made her earlier work so captivating—the way she circles around a topic, exploring it from every angle before landing on her point. “This Is How Tomorrow Moves” captures the messiness of early adulthood with a kind of accuracy that’s almost unsettling.
Despite its flaws, the album feels intentional, like every misstep was part of the plan, leaving room for her to grow. And that’s what makes Beabadoobee so intriguing. She’s branching out, exploring more than just love, and in doing so, she’s inviting us along for the ride.
