Photo Credit: Erika Kamano
Writing about the overwhelming and confusing emotions that come with loving and missing someone, Beabadoobee (real name Beatrice Laus) doesn’t shy away from all the messy contradictions. Instead, she builds a whole record around them. On Pylon, her fourth studio album, the British Filipino singer moves from gentle melodies to roaring distortion and back without hesitation.
“I’d rather be nowhere with you than somewhere without you”, she sings on the title track, an acoustic ballad that slowly transitions into much more aggressive and dissonant sounds. What should perhaps be jarring instead comes off as seamless. It’s no wonder, given that her lyrics explore not only the joy that comes from being reunited with a loved one, but also the impatience that precedes it; “The show's on and the drive's long, but the rest of the roads are clear / And every mile just brings you near”.
Photo Credit: Erika Kamano
Other tracks set the tenderness aside altogether. ‘Sun Has Set’ relies on electric guitar and pounding drums to tackle the darker aspects of separation, while ‘Switchblade’ is straight-up grungy and reminiscent of bands like Ween and Pixies. The words are fittingly evocative: “Growing up just means to fuck everything up again / Take my switchblade, self-defence is to be brave”.
That said, the heavy rock sounds never take away from the album’s many quiet and sweet moments. When the noise settles down, the peaceful arrangements sound all the more beautiful. ‘Memories’ touches on nostalgia through catchy, confident pop songwriting. ‘Despite That’ features ambitious production, but what stands out is the vulnerable lyricism: “Haven't seen you in forever, but you're gone when I get home / Despite that and despite that, I'll still pick up the phone”.
As she grapples with feelings of isolation and confusion, Beabadoobee continuously fixates on the technology surrounding her, especially on songs like ‘Radio’, ‘Powerlines’ and ‘Satellite’. Even the album’s title nods to the electricity towers that reminded her of her connection to friends and family while on tour. Power grids, telephone cables, radio waves, they all keep us connected in some way, but how much of a difference do they make to someone feeling lonely?
Pylon is downright audacious in its willingness to combine so many seemingly disparate moods and sounds, but it all feels earnest and grounded in Beabadoobee’s personality and sense of humour. Throughout the tracklist, she seems to be well aware of the contradictions, but in no rush to reconcile them. “Honesty is hard to come by / Honestly, it's fun to lie sometimes”, she sings on ‘In Motion’.