beabadoobee – Pylon (Album Review)

beabadoobee has always had a little bite hiding underneath the softness, and Pylon finally lets that edge come all the way out.

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TOP 5 SONGS

5. Sun Has Set

This track reminds me of the late ’90s, early 2000s girly grunge/pop-punk that I grew up adoring. It’s blunt and fierce, with heavy strings and drums and underlying rage.

It feels like teenage years, broken hearts, and turning angst into independence in the most badass way. There’s a real sense of growing through the anger here rather than letting it consume you, and I love that.

4. Memories

“Memories” gives us sweet, light indie rock in a way that resonates like the sun itself. The track feels warm and airy and real, like the fall wind hitting your skin on the last days of summer.

Lyrically, it’s non-sugarcoated romance. We’re talking about someone who makes you feel present, or like you’re somewhere you belong. A person who motivates and empowers you, making you want to live in the moment and create many more.

3. Satellite

“Satellite” is soft at first, and then gets really intense later. It’s about looking at someone you once knew from the outside, wondering if you still matter to them like you used to.

The track is honestly tragic, but filled with beauty and power. It’s deep thoughts, feeling like you let someone down that you never wanted to, and wondering if things are ever going to change. There’s something incredibly vulnerable about watching someone from a distance and questioning whether there’s still a place for you in their life.

2. Switchblade

“Switchblade” is moody alt to its very core, and I’m all for it. It honestly seems to be about life itself—just growing up, getting older, and having to face new challenges, along with ones you feel like you’ve faced many times before.

The real question here is, when life throws you BS, are you going to get brave and fight your way through it, or are you going to get scared, lose hope, and shy away?

1. Nothing To Prove

“Nothing To Prove” gives off this playful, confident, carefree, and slightly reckless vibe that makes me want to spin around in circles in the middle of a thunderstorm or go 90 down an abandoned road.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, it feels freeing.

This song made me relate to Horton Hears a Who—like I’m just one person out of the billions of people on a speck that’s part of a much bigger universe. In the bigger picture, it’s not significant, but in reality, it’s my life, and I’m living for me.

SONG BY SONG RATING

Pylon (4/5)
Sun Has Set (4/5)
Estranged (4/5)
Switchblade (4.5/5)
Write Me A Letter (4/5)
It’s Alright (4/5)
In Motion (4/5)
Memories (4/5)
Nothing To Prove (4.5/5)
Radio (4/5)
Powerlines (4/5)
Spark (4/5)
Despite That (4/5)
Satellite (4/5)

RGM RATING

When I hear people talk about beabadoobee, I always assume they’re thinking of a soft, indie acoustic-pop sound like “Glue Song” or “the perfect pair.” But bea’s got an edge too, a little bite, and her new album Pylon really shows that.

Pylon gives and gives and gives some more. It reverberates through your body and lives rent-free in your brain. A pylon is a structure that bears a heavy weight, determines boundaries, and helps to guide people, and the title is spot-on with the album. It’s one of those albums that makes you feel like you’ve got it all figured out while simultaneously having no idea what’s around the corner.

Pylon is giving angst, soul-searching, romance, and heartbreak in a way that surrounds you completely before letting you go. I feel like I was in an overwhelming space filled with light and loudness, and I dove on my own into deep waters. While I was down there, I was met with quiet, stillness, and fading lights. And when I resurfaced, the space came into focus and the world seemed stable again.

That’s it. That’s the album.

Sonically, Pylon leans into rock territory. It gives off indie vibes, grungy alt ballads, and soft, moody strings all the way through. While genre-wise the tracks may be similar, every single one sounds drastically different and gives a different feeling.

Beabadoobee gets really into inner thoughts, confidence, and navigating through life as you continue to grow, and I feel like the genre fits those inner messages perfectly. There’s angst here, but there’s also acceptance. There is romance, but there’s heartbreak. There’s uncertainty, but there’s also this underlying sense that you’re going to figure it out eventually.

At the end of the day, I liked this album a lot. It’s not surface-level, it doesn’t beat around the bush, and you can hear how genuine every line is. I love the sound, the mood, and the inclusiveness of this album, and I can’t wait to hear more from bea.