There’s always been something mildly frustrating about the music of Beabadoobee, and that usually falls into the idea that it really should work, when you mix her sweet-as-you-like voice with a fuzzy, kinda grungy aesthetic.

Obviously, she and her band look great in photos and on-stage, and they have a knack of being social media starlets, which is regrettably a requirement in 2026 – but no slight on Bea and her band. They just get it. That’s because they’re young and cool. With all that, it isn’t surprising that they’re hugely popular.

Bea Laus – the figurehead of the group – has all the right touchpoints to be a legend to those who love her; she’s all slacker chic, smoking cigarettes, but cute as a button while making music that has the echoes of say, Elliott Smith, Pavement, Slowdive, Soundgarden and whatnot, all cut with some pretty straight-out pop sensibilities.

There’s been chart-topping albums, Rick Rubin produced records, sold-out enormo arenas, a Taylor Swift support slot, billions of streams and honestly, if we still had a monoculture like her influences did, she’d probably be a household name. Maybe she doesn’t want that, but still. Either way, we shouldn’t be surprised that there’s a decent queue to get on this new album.

And it’s quite the list – Chino Moreno from Deftones, Brendan Yates from Turnstile, Hayley Williams, and Matty Healy (who happens to own the label that puts Beabadoobee LPs out, Dirty Hit). Star-studded, right? But also, of a hugely high quality too.

The result is that everyone involved on this record have upped their game, and finally, we’re seeing some of the ferocity that we always hoped would really come out of Camp Bea. Her ennui has turned into some decently sized bile, at last!

There’s a sense of her chest opening up and the band allowed to unleash some sizeable firepower, so it’s much more satisfying when you hear “when I say, ‘We’ll never be friends’, I mean we’ll never pretend – fuck that.”

Of course, there’s elements that are almost juvenile, dealing with haters and being dislocated feelings on love and relationships but honestly, we’re listening to a rock ‘n’ roll album – you’d be a dick to pick her up on this and let it slide elsewhere – it’s fine.

Obviously, the appearance of Hayley Williams is a highlight as it seems she can do no wrong at the moment, adding to the melodrama and pomp of a solid slab of pop-rock.

This album may well find Beabadoobee some new fans, even those who are probably put off by such a silly moniker – it may not. The legions of fans she does have already will absolutely be more than enough, and for our money, have been treated to an album that is sonically more mature than previous outings, which is obviously a good thing.

And to add to all this, as an aside, they have one of the most prodigiously talented bass players on the planet at the moment in Eliana Sewell who really stands out throughout ‘Pylon’.

All-in-all, Beabadoobee will continue apace, and you imagine their stature is only going to grow with this album. If you’re in the market for some Pop Grunge, then this needs to be on your radar.