Dirty Hit

Filipino-English indie artist Beatrice Laus, or beabadoobee, has blown up this year, totaling 17.1 million monthly Spotify listeners. On Dec. 6, she released “Live in LA,” an Aug. 14 recording from her final North American “Beatopia” tour concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. The set list includes 21 songs from various albums to hit singles, including 2022’s “Beatopia” and 2023’s “the way things go.”

The album opens with “Talk” from “Beatopia,” where the listener can hear the crowd chanting Bea’s name in anticipation. She sings the first words “Call you up on a Tuesday” while the guitar and drums start proudly. The song describes a complicated situation between her and another who “go together like the gum on [her] shoes,” see each other when “it’s too late” and are ultimately a “bad decision” as a pair. This song is about people who find themselves in relationships that are unhealthy and those who deal with attachment issues. The beat encapsulates the chaos in these instances of desiring someone for the moment and the shame that follows.

Next is “Apple Cider” from “Loveworm,” which narrates a lighthearted situation about having a crush and falling in love. Bea sings, “I don’t even like you that much” and the crowd finishes the line, shouting, “Wait, I do.” Bea sings, “It’s really nice to talk to you, it’s really nice to hold your hand,” because she cannot deny the feelings that emerge as she inevitably becomes smitten. This song appeals to teens who like someone and hope for something more. “Cologne” from “Our Extended Play” outlines the consuming nature of a romantic relationship in which a person takes up her head so much that she “hates what [the] song is about.” Nevertheless, she merrily continues to crush on this person.

Bea expresses devasted feelings in a few of the songs. In the first line of “10:36” — “You don’t need me as much as I need you” — listeners hear the sadness and anguish that comes in Bea’s words of heartbreak. She feels betrayed and does not know how to be alone anymore, making constant phone calls to the other person that turn into radio silence. In addition, “Together” from “Fake it Flowers” plays. Bea “doesn’t want to be away” from the other person, but she does not feel satisfied together either. Her relationship is toxic and mutually hurtful; however, the two cannot let each other go.

Breaking from sadness, “Charlie Brown” from “Fake it Flowers” narrates the anger coming out of a breakup, repeating “Throw it away” in most of the song. The guitar sounds disjointed, paralleling her imbalanced feelings while she “needs to figure things out.” “Care” from the same album complements “Charlie Brown,” frequenting “You don’t really care” and “I don’t want your sympathy.” Bea feels cheated and would rather discard her feelings about the other person than confront them.

The last songs in the cycle of grief convey acceptance. In “Pictures of Us” and “See you Soon” from “Beatopia,” Bea says “[she doesn’t] think [she] could do it” after expressing gratitude for the lessons of a relationship in how “[they] reminded [her] that ‘God’ starts with a capital.” Bea is thankful for what the relationship was and what she has learned but still wonders how to move past it. She is starting to finally feel free but not without the guilt of advancing. In “See you Soon,” Bea “[feels] blue” in saying goodbye to someone, but “[guesses] she has to take it” for how it is. Bea “needs time to grow and to exist” while she deals with existing by herself now. The listener understands her emotions of longing while embracing life in the absence of another.

Revealing a healed Bea, she refers to her past lover as a “distant memory [she] used to know” in her single “the way things go.” She even tells the crowd “It’s a breakup song. It’s OK, I’m in love, so it’s fine,” reinforcing her message. Bea sings “There’s so much left to say, I guess I’m just the bigger guy,” ultimately letting go and surrendering to the uncontrollable aspects of her relationship.

Fitting as the album’s final song is “fairy song” from “Beatopia,” in which Bea shows the beauty of life with various lessons such as “eat so you’re stronger,” “speak to your brother” and “remember to pray.” In her 23 years, Bea has gained enough knowledge to know how to take care of herself and continue to appreciate the value of seemingly minuscule things. She leaves the crowd with feelings of joy and hope as she wraps up the show.

Overall, “Live in LA” is a wonderful recap of all of beabadoobee’s discography and feelings as she has matured throughout love, heartbreak and life. Every song in the album tells a story and relates to how she was at the time she wrote it, whether it be from 2020, 2021, 2022 or 2023. Starting as a teenager in 2017 with “Coffee,” Bea has the perfect appeal to her young audience who can relate to many of the scenarios she describes in her music.