This is how tomorrow moves - Tomorrow with the nostalgia of yesterday.

When to Listen: Anytime
Accessibility: Very
TLDR: A 2000's indie vibe in 2024(5) about leaning on the past to face tomorrow.

This is how tomorrow moves is a softly sung meditation on love, loss, and growing up. Beabadoobee's third studio album is arguably her first that resonates all the way through—nominating it for a long play. It's a bright, airy album that somehow still captures melancholy, with a cornucopia of stylistic influences from folk, country, jazz, alt-rock, and indie that rummages through vibes of the '90s and '00s. It creates a cohesive experience that I can loop over and over again.

The album opens strong with "Take A Bite"—a jazzy, introspective track about facing negative thoughts that sets the tone beautifully. "California" follows with a harder, more grunge edge (bubble-grunge is the term), cementing the album's range and momentum. You know you're in for something special.

The album has several standout tracks beyond these two. "One Time," "Beaches," "A Cruel Affair," and "This is How it Went" are particular highlights, but this is an album best appreciated as a whole—each song building on the last to create something greater than its parts.

Beyond the sonic qualities, it's clear Beabadoobee's songwriting has matured drastically. This is an album about coming into your own, about acknowledging that life is messy and complicated—a refreshing honesty in a time when everyone seems determined to pretend everything is fine. What makes This is how tomorrow moves so compelling is its central paradox: it's sonically nostalgic, drenched in '90s and '00s influences, yet it's fundamentally about moving forward. The album understands that sometimes looking back is how you move toward tomorrow. It's a reminder that growth isn't about leaving the past behind—it's about carrying it with you as you step into what comes next.