beabadoobee released her fourth album on 18 September, and the names attached to it read like a hardcore and alt-metal bill rather than an indie pop record. Pylon is out through Dirty Hit, and the guests on it come from Deftones, Turnstile, Paramore, Pinegrove and Title Fight.
The most discussed is the last track. Chino Moreno sings on Satellite, though subtly: he is providing backing vocals under Beatrice Laus rather than trading verses, and the song builds from a quiet opening into a distorted alt-rock chorus. Metal Injection described it as sounding like what Deftones might do if they attempted an indie single.
Brendan Yates of Turnstile turns up on Powerlines, carrying the hook on a track Metal Injection called jazzy and sensual. Neither guest is used as a genre novelty; both are placed where a second voice changes the shape of the song.
Hayley Williams does more than sing. She co-wrote Nothing to Prove alongside beabadoobee, the producer Daniel James and Mike Elizondo, whose credits run from Mastodon to 50 Cent. beabadoobee has said she regards Williams as the blueprint for women in rock and indie, which makes the collaboration less a booking than a stated debt.
The heaviest influence on the record is a songwriting one. Shane Moran of Title Fight co-wrote seven tracks: Sun Has Set, It's Alright, In Motion, Memories, Radio, Powerlines and Satellite. Pinegrove's Evan Stephens Hall co-wrote and produced Spark, another act beabadoobee has been open about admiring. NME also credits Matty Healy and George Daniel of The 1975.
The album was trailed by the singles Memories, Switchblade and Sun Has Set. NME gave it four stars, praising Satellite in particular and reading the record as an account of still working out how to grow up rather than a set of answers.
beabadoobee is touring it at a scale she has not played before, with her first arena runs in the UK, Europe and North America. More on the album sits on the release calendar and our indie hub. We covered beabadoobee sharing the single Memories and Turnstile releasing Never Enough: Versions earlier this year.
The facts
- beabadoobee released her fourth album Pylon on 18 September through Dirty Hit.
- Chino Moreno of Deftones sings backing vocals on the closing track Satellite.
- Brendan Yates of Turnstile appears on Powerlines.
- Hayley Williams co-wrote and sings on Nothing to Prove.
- Daniel James and Mike Elizondo also co-wrote that song.
- Title Fight's Shane Moran co-wrote seven tracks on the album.
- Pinegrove's Evan Stephens Hall co-wrote and produced Spark.
- The album was trailed by the singles Memories, Switchblade and Sun Has Set.
How this checks out
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