Filipino-British artist Bea Kristi, also known as Beabadoobee, has revealed the kind of outer space our daydreams are made of in her latest EP “Space Cadet.” Hint: It’s not as glittery as it seems, but it’s something we are all familiar with.
The five-track record serves as her third EP, marking the artist’s most barefaced, boundless, and relatable-sounding tracklist yet. Armed with signature ’90s grunge, distorted guitars, dominating drums, dreamy pulls, and a whole lot of playfulness, she’s making us headbang in our bedroom without biting into guilt at all.
Aside from the EP’s infectious mix of nostalgic layers and fresh melodies, what gravitates us towards this record is its straightforward lyricism. The artist sings about being misunderstood in “Are You Sure” while she describes walking into strangeness in titular track “Space Cadet.” Both are realities we try to be comfortable with, but they sound less larger-than-life with Beabadoobee’s sonic takes.
Meanwhile, “Sun More Often” doesn’t only tackle how at the end of the day, Bea Kristi just wants us to see the sun more often; it also feels like an embrace that resounds in the line, “in your head, you’re scared. So just sing along to the song in your head.” But hey, aren’t we all kids still trying to figure out things? In “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus,” the artist validates our need for heroes sometimes—”I think I kinda like it. I get tired of the same shit… And I sit at home, crying to Pavement. I wish I was Stephen Malkmus. I wanted to change, no one forced it.”
This EP is a treat in all its edges. Like how we wait for the good stuff, we’ll just sit by the window, waiting for the next Space Cadet to knock on our door.
Still from I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus