When Beatrice Laus decided how to close her fourth studio album, Pylon, she looked beyond her usual circle and found an unexpected counterpart. On "Satellite", the record's final track, Laus brings Deftones frontman Chino Moreno into her orbit. The collaboration joins two very different generations of alternative rock, but rather than letting a veteran heavy rock singer take over the arrangement, Laus uses his presence to sharpen the emotional weight of her own writing.
Released on September 18, Pylon ends on a song structured around extreme contrasts in volume and feeling. "Satellite" begins in near silence, relying on quiet tension before it ever reaches for distortion. In the opening lines, Laus captures the ache of distance, describing what it feels like to hang upside down while worrying about letting someone down yet again. She lingers on late night phone calls and the hollow hum of dial tones, clinging to whatever fragile thread remains on the line. Moreno stays submerged beneath her in these early verses, supplying low, understated backing vocals that add weight without disturbing the quiet intimacy of the room.
When the chorus hits, the restraint falls away. The track erupts into a dense wall of distorted guitars, matching a sudden shift in lyrical perspective. Laus moves from close, claustrophobic imagery toward the atmosphere, singing of splitting in two, singing to the moon, and circling another person like an orbiting satellite. The surge in volume gives Moreno room to cut through, but the focus remains on the songwriting. An official lyric video arrived alongside the track, putting those stark lines directly in front of the listener.
While Moreno delivers a dramatic final chapter to the record, he is far from the only guest Laus invited into the studio for Pylon. The album features a sprawling cast of contributors, including Paramore singer Hayley Williams, Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates, and Pinegrove songwriter Evan Stephens Hall. The 1975 members Matty Healy and George Daniel also contributed to the tracklist, while Title Fight guitarist Shane Moran co-wrote numerous songs across the LP, helping Laus guide the heavier, guitar-driven sound. Listeners had already caught glimpses of that direction through the advance singles "Memories", "Switchblade", and "Sun Has Set".
That heavier direction arrives at a moment when Laus is making a significant leap in scale. This autumn, she sets out on her first arena tour, with dates scheduled across North America, the UK, and Europe. Her North American leg kicks off next month with stops in the United States and Canada, before the tour crosses the Atlantic in November. That European run includes dates in Glasgow, Cardiff, and Manchester, alongside an appearance at London's O2 Arena. Playing rooms of that size requires songs with real dynamic range, and the loud, crushing choruses on "Satellite" seem built specifically for cavernous halls.
The album also caps off a productive year of one-off projects and collaborations for Laus. Prior to the release of Pylon, she linked up with Los Angeles group The Marías on "All I Did Was Dream Of You", a joint single paired with a music video inspired by director Yorgos Lanthimos and his film Bugonia. She also took part in charity work, contributing an acoustic cover of Elliott Smith's classic "Say Yes" to the War Child benefit compilation Help(2).
For Moreno, the guest spot on "Satellite" follows a massive summer run with Deftones. Just last month, the Sacramento band played the largest UK headline concert of their career, leading the bill at London's joint Outbreak and All Points East event before continuing through mainland Europe. On "Satellite", his backing vocals offer a focused, moody complement rather than a flashy guest feature, leaving Pylon on a heavy, unresolved note that bridges decades of alternative rock without losing its core intimacy.
