A Tuesday drop brought us the second taste of beabadoobee’s anticipated new album Pylon. “Switchblade” was only announced a few days before its release but received plenty of love nonetheless. Based on these first two singles, Beatrice Laus is giving us a record that is much different from her 2024 release This Is How Tomorrow Moves. Listeners were introduced to her new, alt-rock sound in June when she released “Sun Has Set,” which holds a heavy emo-guitar riff and vocals that could be leaning into Avril Lavigne. While both singles are bold, they are bold in different ways. If anything, this might give us a glimpse into the complexity of her new album.
“Switchblade” showcases the exhaustion of a relationship in which every attempt to communicate turns into an argument. This can be due to the other partner lacking emotional depth or simply being manipulative. There is astuteness in the irony of Laus delivering the message of not being able to say things directly without saying them directly.
The undertones of anger or resentment are not only laced into the lyrics, but also into the instrumentals. From the beginning, listeners are greeted with a shrill, distorted guitar that jumps out and leaves listeners with an uncomfortable feeling. When listeners dive into the opening lyrics, “I’m a switchblade cutting through an open space,” it can be interpreted that the peace — referred to as “open space” — exists only due to the choice of remaining silent about problems. These words are followed with a question, asking whether it’s even worth saying anything at all, knowing how the conversation is going to end.
“Do you start the fight or take the flight?”
Phots via Erika Kamano
The feelings of frustration become stronger in the chorus where Laus compares her seething anger to a fever that she cannot control and confesses it just takes “it” out of her. Leaving lyrics vague opens the gates for listener interpretation. The simple “it” in this scenario can be any number of not-so-simple things, including love, energy, the feeling of self, hope or all of these simultaneously. After beating around topics of self-blame and self-doubt, Laus cuts deeper, revealing the aftermath of bottling feelings up for too long.
“Feeling worn thin, can I learn to trust again? / Growing old just seems to break everythin’ that we mend / Hold my lighter, courage flicker, burn and fade”
Being with a person who takes basic communication as an attack, argument, or a chance to deflect is an experience many people go through but is not commonly written about. Laus did a phenomenal job saying all of this without actually saying it, which is, again, so ironic. The song ends with a lost spark in not only this relationship, but also the person revealing these feelings. Pylon is set to release on September 18, 2026, when listeners will find out if “Switchblade” is part of a storytelling album or a statement piece in itself. The record will feature many recognizable artists such as Hayley Williams, Turnstile’s Brendan Yates, and more. With contributions this massive and the slight genre shift, this is expected to be beabadoobee’s biggest album release yet.
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