If you are a fan of Alternative Pop and Rock, I am sure you are a fan of (or at least have heard of) Beabadoobee. Over the last decade or so, she has gone from an Indie Rock artist known mainly in Indie music circles and on social media to a household name in modern alternative rock. Beabadoobee first burst onto the scene in the mid-to-late 2010s, when the music from her EPs like Space Cadet and Patched Up gained a ton of traction on YouTube. Songs like ‘I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus,’ ‘Sun More Often,’ and ‘She Plays Bass’ were praised for their relation to 1990s Punk and Alt-Grunge music, standing out in the rock landscape of the time. I personally loved this music from Beabadoobee when it came out, and it seemed like she had a ton of potential. In the first five years of the 2020s, Beabadoobee released three studio albums, Fake It Flowers, Beatopia, and This Is How Tomorrow Moves. All three of these albums had a different sound from each other, and they progressively moved more towards a bit of a Pop-Rock element. Out of the three, my personal favorite was Beatopia(which spawned the viral hit single ‘The Perfect Pair’). Admittedly, though, it felt like she slightly lost the spark that was in her earlier EPs. They are all good in their own right, but not as good as I maybe would have expected. In the middle of 2026, Beabadoobee started releasing singles for her new album, Pylon. These singles felt like they had a sound closer to that more retro Punk music she made in the past, and made a lot of fans pretty excited. A few weeks ago, she dropped Pylon. Below, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite songs from this record, and also give some overall thoughts on it as a whole. Please let me know in the comments what you think of Beabadoobee and Pylon!

SUN HAS SET

‘Sun Has Set’ was the first single from Pylon. As I said above, it definitely got me excited about this record’s potential. The guitar riff that starts off the track certainly gets me going from the start. This song has such a level of grit that I absolutely love. The tone of the melody on this one is pretty melancholy and mean. The title for this one feels apt, because the melody feels dark. The pacing of this song varies throughout. In the verses, it is slower, and on the hook, it is faster. The drums gain intensity with the pacing of the track. I love how Beabadoobee’s vocals have a bit of gruffness to them. She matches the energy of the instrumental so well. On ‘Sun Has Set,’ Beabadoobee sings about ending a relationship cold turkey and cutting off her former friend or partner completely. 

WRITE ME A LETTER

When first listening to this record, ‘Write Me A Letter’ was a song that I immediately gravitated towards. Not only because of its sound, but also because of the lyrical sentiment of the track. ‘Write Me A Letter’ has a much sweeter and brighter sound than the song that precedes it. The melody for this one feels very light. If the last song brings more of a dark feeling, this one definitely brings more of the sun. The verses of this track have a pretty soft and laid-back feeling to them, while the hook does bring a bit more power and emphasis. Beabadoobee portrays a lot of emotion with her vocals on this one. You can really hear the pain in her voice, which makes the song feel more emotional. On ‘Write Me A Letter,’ Beabadoobee sings about someone not being able to convey their emotions well, so she would love it if this person would show her how they feel through the way they write. 

IN MOTION

There are a few songs that definitely feel very inspired by 1990s Alt-Metal by the way they build up. ‘In Motion’ is a song that totally fits into that mold. The song starts with a pretty slow and soft sound, and progressively gains power as it progresses. The guitar riff and drums on this song are so sludgy. The way that this track is arranged immediately makes me think of groups like Deftones or even Radiohead. Even though the guitar riff that drives this one has a pretty vibrant sound, the arrangement of the track almost makes the song feel melancholy. The drums on this song bring a ton of power as well. Once again, Beabadoobee more than matches the energy of the instrumental with her vocals. She sings with a level of emphasis that really makes this one hit hard. On ‘In Motion,’ Beabadoobee sings about not being able to control her depression and her emotions and not being able to trust anyone in the world anymore. 

MEMORIES

‘Memories’ is another track that brings a sweeter and lighter feeling to it. Instead of having more of that 1990s Alternative feeling that most of the album has, this one has more of a 2000s sound to it. In particular, it makes me think of 2000s Emo groups like Taking Back Sunday or Jimmy Eat World. The melody that drives this one is very calming. It has a vibrant sound that can bring up anyone’s mood when it comes on. For the most part, the guitar is pretty subdued, but it does have a bit of distortion of time that drives up the energy a bit. The drums on this track are actually kind of fast-paced, but that does not really affect the calming nature of the song. Beabadoobee’s vocals are pretty soft on this track as well, going super well with the instrumental. On ‘Memories,’ Beabadoobee reminisces about good times and is showered with good energy from her partner. 

NOTHING TO PROVE FEAT. HAYLEY WILLIAMS

‘Nothing To Prove’ is a track that has gained a lot of traction from this album immediately, and it is not difficult to see why. Besides the actual quality of the track, the song features vocals from Hayley Williams, which is always good for attracting a lot of fans because of how popular she is at this point. Sonically, this one does lean into the sound that Hayley Williams would be more accustomed to. This one actually has a pretty similar sound to ‘Memories.’ The guitar riff and drums also have that retro Midwest Emo sound to them. Vocally, Beabadoobee and Hayley Williams mesh well together, and they feed into that Midwest Emo sound so well. This song even has the sort of “Lalala” chanting that a lot of those kinds of tracks have. On ‘Nothing To Prove,’ Beabadoobee and Hayley Williams sing about 

RADIO

‘Radio’ was another song that I was immediately attracted to as soon as I heard it. Something about the sound and charm of this one really brings me in. ‘Radio’ is another one with that 1990s Alt-Grunge feeling to it. There is a bit of a shimmer to the melody, though, that makes the track very welcoming. Although the guitar tone is pretty harsh, the feeling of the song is somewhat soft. The drums have a similar element to the guitar riff. They do crash pretty hard, but they don’t sound super mean. Beabadoobee’s vocals on ‘Radio’ have a very warm tone as well. Her vocals on this one have a sugary sound that I really love. On ‘Radio,’ she seems to come to terms with everything that is bothering her. Instead of getting mad, she wants to go outside and calm down, and listen to the radio.

When I heard that Beabadoobee was releasing a new album earlier this year, I wanted it to be great, but I tempered my expectations. As I mentioned in the introduction, I really enjoyed her early music, but I have been less into some of her full releases. Don’t get me wrong, they all have songs that I love, but as a whole I do not think they fully lived up to her potential. The single ‘Sun Has Set’ did give me a lot of hope for Pylon. I have always thought she should fully dive into that 1990s-esque Alt-Grunge sound that she has shown flashes of in the past, as it felt like her vocals and style would make a full record sound super good. I am totally happy with how Pylon turned out. For the most part, the album does have that sort of Alt-Grunge sound that I love from her. The record does have some more Emo Rock tracks as well, which is something she has never dove into. This is a sound she probably should have been going with in the past, as it sounds so good from her on this record. Even though the album does vary in sound throughout, it flows together so well. Each song sounds like it is connected to the last one, making it such a smooth listen. Vocally, Beabadoobee impresses more than ever on this record. She really pushes herself, and the song in which she especially strains adds so much. Beabadoobee has always been a great songwriter, and her writing is great on Pylon. The lyricism is visceral and relatable, and it makes these songs pop. Overall, Beabadoobee truly came into her own on Pylon. This record is awesome, and it has to be one of the best Rock releases of the year, in my opinion.