20 year old Filipina-British artist, Beabadoobee released her debut album Fake It Flowers on October 15th, 2020. Alongside singles “Care” and “Worth it”, she carries a strong influence of several female alternative rock artists of the early 2000s/late 90s.

The album begins with the song “Care”, released in July 2020, Bea introduces this catchy track as an introduction to Fake it Flowers. I believe everyone can relate to this song as it triggers an emotional side and pushes others to rebel against society’s norms. I was quite mesmerized by the way Bea used one word throughout the entire chorus. I’d have to say the song choice to introduce this new era of Beabadoobee was a good pick.

Fake It Flowers is a rendition of the sounds of many bands and artists from the early 2000s/late 90s. Bea derives inspiration from many alternative rock bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement. In an interview mid-July 2020, Bea tells what influenced the sound of the album, “For this record in particular it was a lot of Alanis Morisette, K’s Choice and just loads of amazing female artists of the time.” Her focus point of the album is centered around female musicians of the early 2000s. It also reflects on her love for coming-of-age movie soundtracks such as Juno, with its indie-folk persuasion.

There are multiple tracks on the album that stand out on their own individual levels. One track in particular, “Back to Mars,” took a toll on my emotional side, again. The fingerstyle on the guitar and the animosity of the lyrics were so simple, but still beautifully produced. Another personal favorite of mine would have to be “Dye It Red”. Taking it to a more uptempo scale, this track stands out with its amazing drums and catchy chord progressions. I believe that Bea significantly improved on her guitar skills and experimented with different tunings.

Fake It Flowers does not disappoint with each track bringing you on a bright and shoegaze-like adventure. Bea’s progression since her other eps Space Cadet and Loveworm has shown her diverse taste in her music. Going from lullaby, melancholic songs in Loveworm to post-90s alt-rock that is Fake it Flowers. To comment on the production, Pete Robertson did an excellent job of turning Bea’s creative ideas to life, producing songs like “Horen Sarrision” almost resembling to a song coming out of a Disney move, as that was her goal. Overall, I’d give Beabadoobee’s album a 4/5 star rating. Becoming inspired by female performers such as Miki Berenyi from Lush and Alanis Morisette, is Beabadoobee the Avril Lavigne of this generation?