beabadoobee goes heavier on Pylon, with Hayley Williams, Brendan Yates and Chino Moreno

beabadoobee's new album Pylon arrives as the sharpest turn of her career, pushing her sound toward grunge, alt-rock and '90s guitar music while keeping her ear for melody intact. The record was previewed with lead single "Sun Has Set," mailed out to fans on iPod Shuffles, and it doubles down on abrasion rather than the hushed pop she built a following on.

The album was shaped on the road. Touring This Is How Tomorrow Moves in 2024, the English artist found herself watching electricity towers — pylons — pass by the bus window while staying off social media. They became an odd anchor during stretches of isolation and homesickness, eventually giving the record its title and cover art. "I didn't want it to feel like a conceptual album," she told Vogue Australia.

Thematically, Pylon deals with the idea that adulthood is never fully mastered. Songs like "Radio" and "Switchblade" back that uncertainty with feedback and rough-edged riffs, making the anger and loneliness in the writing land harder. Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, she said she has always loved hardcore and Midwest emo and wanted to build her own version of it.

The guest list reads like a map of her influences. Hayley Williams of Paramore and Turnstile's Brendan Yates appear as features, while Title Fight's Shane Moran and Pinegrove's Evan Stephens Hall contribute co-writes. Deftones' Chino Moreno adds backing vocals on "Satellite," and production comes from the 1975's George Daniel and Matty Healy.

Vocally, it's her widest swing yet, from restrained openings to full-throated delivery over layers of fuzz. Describing her approach, she said there is "a beauty in imperfection," framing the record around performing with a live band instead of chasing a polished take.