If you’ve been following indie-pop over the last few years, you already know Beabadoobee has a rare talent for capturing the exact feeling of growing up—the messy parts, the nostalgic parts, and everything in between. With her latest single, “Memories” she’s right back at it, and honestly, it’s one of her catchiest and most emotionally layered tracks yet.

It’s also our first real taste of her upcoming album, Pylon, which drops on September 18 via Dirty Hit / Interscope Records.

Under the Surface of “Memories”

On the surface, “Memories” moves with a bright, bouncing energy. Beabadoobee even called it “one of the happiest songs on the album.”

But if you actually listen to what she’s saying, there’s a heavy dose of melancholy wrapped up in those hooks. The track deals with that very specific trap of nostalgia—the temptation to romanticize yesterday, paired with the quiet ache of knowing you can’t actually live there anymore.

“I wish they were just moments I lived in forever,” she sings, hitting right on that universal urge to freeze time when things feel good.

What Pylon Has in Store

“Memories” sets a high bar for Pylon, and the background story of the album makes it even more interesting. Bea wrote most of it by herself in various hotel rooms on the road, taking her back to the solitary, bedroom-pop mindset she started with as a teenager.

Even with that personal starting point, Pylon looks like it’s going to span a massive emotional range:

• Big indie-rock punch mixed with sharp, immediate pop melodies

• Honest themes covering everything from deep loneliness to sudden euphoria and frustration

• Some of her most vulnerable, unfiltered lyricism yet

Why You Need This Track on Rotation

Whether you’ve been listening since her early Bandcamp days or caught onto her infectious hooks more recently, “Memories” just clicks. It manages to be genuinely fun to listen to while still packing an emotional punch that stays with you long after the song ends.

Pylon is out on September 18, and “Memories” is out everywhere now.