Great emotions lurk in the complex and precise everyday poetry of the Brit’s songwriter pop.
Arlo Parks is only 23 years old. This is just information right at the beginning, because the Englishwoman with French roots has already done a surprising amount for such a young age. Her debut album COLLAPSED IN SUNBEAMS from 2021 was showered with praise, writers like Zadie Smith praised her huge talent as a lyricist, Billie Eilish also came out as a fan, and Parks immediately won the prestigious Mercury Prize, after which every English-speaking world :r musician:in thirsts.
What you have to do as an insider tip, especially in the alternative area, that’s what the British artist has already delivered. Now the world career is to follow, and the follow-up album MY SOFT MACHINE consequently continues what Parks has been working on for years, but this time in a somewhat more accessible, more rhythmic way.
She lets heartbreak and fears waft under candy-pop soundscapes
Parks has his eye on the market, no question, but he’s not bucking it. On MY SOFT MACHINE, Parks floated through short, mostly difficult episodes of her life with impressive ease. Topics such as mental health and nature are dealt with with great openness and the first single “Weightless” has already proven to be remarkably suitable for radio. The catchy tune doesn’t bother you while you’re having breakfast or driving (you can sing along to it straight away, thinks you’ve known it for a long time).
On closer listening, however, it turns out to be an interesting reflection on a dating phenomenon of our time, the so-called “breadcrumbing”. In the process of getting to know each other, the person who is more in love is thrown a “crumb” in the form of an emoji or a Whatsapp compliment from time to time to keep them going until something better is found.
Apparently having recently escaped this manipulative melee herself, Parks wrote her own liberation hit. And that’s what she basically does on this album with great sovereignty: she lets heartbreak and fears waft under candy-pop sound covers. Her pieces are everyday soundtracks and can be read as short stories at the same time. One should not underestimate their complexity.
She understood songwriting and can classify and break different styles
The woman has simply read and experienced a lot, she understands songwriting and can classify and break down different styles. By his own admission, inspired by the poetry of the American Mary Oliver, Parks gets to the bottom of the difficulty of saying “I love you” on many of the 12 tracks and thus confidently serves one of the main themes in pop. Parks loves women and describes their desires with gentleness and respect for big feelings.
Her translucent, calm voice sails over the music, but lyrically she always remains clear and precise. Parks is not a trickster. The individual tracks are relentlessly honest, but still fragile, and while listening it seems as if you were sitting in a bathtub full of lukewarm tears and would enjoy splashing about in them. A great, casual and at the same time melancholic album!