Source: Official Album Artwork
After a tear-ridden survival song, Simon Cowell uttered, “Beatrice, I don’t think this is the right time for you right now,” moments before her elimination on the second season of The X Factor US. He was exactly right. Three years down the line, Bea has wiped away the latter half of her forename, refined her edgy identity and is now out to prove a point. Enter Not An Apology.
The opening tracks for example, are destined to be crowdpleasers. The eerie melody of ‘Young Blood‘ rapidly transforms into a pounding chorus that channels camaraderie and conquering. ‘Fire N Gold‘, Bea’s most successful single to date follows the same pattern as she embraces the pop-rock style of Demi Lovato’s debut record Don’t Forget. It’s songs like these where Bea’s age goes unnoticed, her vocals giving the impression of any artist who’s been in the game double the amount of time and experiences she has.
However, there are points in the album where Bea’s age does show. Half-baked tracks like the coming of age ‘I Dare You‘ and the unprogressive rhythm of ‘Dracula‘ are sure to resonate with young devotees, but do little in advancing Miller into mainstream success. ‘Rich Kids‘ also doesn’t get much better than its already cringy title. At times it feels as if she’s rhyming for the sake of it rather than trying to communicate her desired message, “After school I always had to work/It kinda left me feeling like a jerk“.
What Bea’s debut album isn’t short of, is attitude. Bea lives up to both the electrifying guitar hooks, and her punchy lyrics, certainly conveying that she’s not afraid to express her feelings. In ‘This Is Not An Apology‘, her lyrics are so scathing that you almost want to side with her broken-hearted boyfriend, “You’re such a chick, it makes me feel like a dude“. Undeniably though, with relationships comes vulnerability and it’s the impactful ‘Paper Doll‘ and particularly the acoustic ‘Force of Nature‘ where Bea’s vocals peak, her softer falsetto perfectly demonstrating a capability to combat any emotion coming her way.
In just a short period of time, Bea’s sound has bloomed immensely and whilst still in progress, it’s glimpses of greatness like ‘Fire N Gold‘ that make her one of pop’s most exciting emerging young stars.
