By Ellie Evans
Beabadoobee is back, and she’s come back with a bang. With Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Turnstile’s Brendan Yates, Deftones’ Chino Moreno and Title Fight’s Shane Moran all lending a hand, Pylon lands today (18 September) via Dirty Hit and Interscope Records,
Starting off wonderfully with Bea’s familiar fluttery vibrato, the title track Pylon welcomes us back, a soothing reminder of just how comforting her signature bed of fuzz feels to fall back into. Sun Has Set and Memories equally compliment her trademark vocals, while simultaneously shining a spotlight of attention onto the ways in which she has grown since her third album This Is How Tomorrow Moves. Replacing softness for roughness, Bea’s new-found confidence vocally is prominent throughout Pylon. It feels like we are witnessing Bea experiment with something new in real-time, and watching it pay off for her.
Breaking free from her previous conventions suits her. There’s something refreshing about watching an artist discover new sides of themselves and their music after following their journey across three albums.
Having said that, the middle of the album risks becoming repetitive with Write Me A Letter, It’s Alright, and In Motion, which all blended together for me. After a while, the electric guitar starts to feel like it’s hogging the spotlight. Its constant presence across the tracks makes things feel a little samey, and after such a strong opening, I was itching for a bit more variety.
Music powerhouse, Hayley Williams, grabbed my attention back and I genuinely enjoyed being whisked away by the harmony of their vices blended together. Similarly, Spark grabbed my hand to pull me back into the world of Pylon. I found myself imagining how good the ending note would be live, and crossing my fingers it makes the Pylon tour setlist.
Bea surpassed my expectations once again, going from the album’s shortest track straight into its longest. I’d be very curious to find out insight on her decisions regarding the album tracklist arrangement. Despite That reminds me of See you Soon from Beatopia, while Satellite sounds like the sister of a Cigarettes After Sex track. For me, the standout of Pylon is without a doubt Satellite.
With her fourth album, Pylon, now out in the world, she’s gearing up for her biggest tour yet, including a stop at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on 16 November. Naturally, we’ll be there on the guest list to catch it all and report back with another review!
