TRACK REVIEW: Arlo Parks - Hope — Music Musings & Such

TRACK REVIEW:

Arlo Parks

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Kurunis

Hope

9.7/10

The track, Hope, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d-blfWHSng

GENRES:

Indie Pop/Bedroom Pop/Neo-Soul

ORIGIN:

London, U.K.

The album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, is available via:

https://www.arloparksofficial.com/

LABEL:

Transgressive

RELEASE DATE:

29th January, 2021

PRODUCER:

Gianluca Buccellati

TRACKLISTING:

Collapsed in Sunbeams

Hurt

Too Good

Hope

Caroline

Black Dog

Green Eyes

Just Go

For Violet

Eugene

Bluish

Bad Sounds

Portra 400

__________

THIS is a review that I have been…

looking forwards to for a while now! I have been a big follower of Arlo Parks’ music for a couple of years now but, with her fantastic album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, out and showcasing her immense talent, I think now is the right time to shine a spotlight on one of modern music’s finest talents. Arlo Parks (Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho) is someone who has had an interesting life and, though her career, she has grown and developed. I want to bring in a series of interviews and explore different subjects before I come to reviewing a track from Collapsed in Sunbeams. When thinking about Parks, I am interested in her early life and what that was like. When she spoke with The Guardian, we got a snapshot of Parks’ (I will refer to her by her stage name from now on) earliest years:

“As a shy, but happy, child growing up in Hammersmith, west London, Parks discovered poetry after a teacher gave her Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, and she remembers reading Allen Ginsberg’s Howl for the first time. “I realised that what I loved was descriptive writing rather than something with a plot,” she says. “My attention span was quite short and I just wanted to use a lot of beautiful words. When I read a poem like Howl, or Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath, I felt myself being moved – I wanted to do that for other people.” She started making music in her mid-teens when she picked up a guitar and taught herself how to make beats on GarageBand.

But she says she “did want to tell a story, a concise one”, and as such, unlike most pop lyricists, she’s not keen on using metaphor, even when singing of mental illness and suicide. On Black Dog, she coaxes a friend out of despair, suggesting everything from licking the grief from her friend’s lips to a trip to the corner shop to buy fruit. “I would do anything to get you out your room,” she sings. “It’s so cruel what your mind can do for no reason”.

I think that early memories and musical experiences can be transformative and effecting. I have discussed mine before but, for Arlo Parks, as we learn from an interview in DORK from last year, Otis Redding is particularly instrumental:

"My earliest memory of music is listening to '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' by Otis Redding, just in the car. I don't know why that's the first song I remember consciously absorbing, but when I got older, it was more of a personal thing," she recalls. "Because my family loved music, it was on a different level where I went on YouTube and would spend hours trying to find new stuff to listen to – I think that's where my music taste really evolved."

Otis Redding's conversational melancholia being one of the first memories that Arlo has of music holds a poetic kind of symmetry. It is no mere coincidence that her own songs are littered with observational imagery and a solemn stillness that permeates listeners lives in a distinctly relatable way. There's an honesty that resides in the words, and it's something that Arlo is well aware of”.

Forgive me for sprinkling in these interviews and various snippets; I like how we get these revelations from Parks regarding music and what it was like growing up. Like many prodigious and budding poets and songwriters it seems, as we see from an interview from NME, that Parks developed her gift whilst she was in school:

“At age 10, she’d already begun writing in various forms with regularity. “I can remember spending a lot of weekends writing down my thoughts and making stories,” she says. “I’ve always been a very emotional person and as a child. I guess writing felt like something that I could do in private to process things. Being an empath [a person with heightened emotional awareness] you tend to absorb everyone else’s moods. I realised that being sensitive means you can connect to all kinds of people. I think I’ve learned that it is a gift as well”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Phoebe Fox

I just want to source a couple more interview segments regarding Arlo Parks’ earliest years; I will move into her teenage life - as it seemed like she started to find her crowd and place at this time. That said, Parks is only twenty now, so we are talking about her a few years ago! It is amazing to see how young she is and how far she has come already! In an interview for The Independent, a particular section caught my eye:

“Up until the age of 16, Parks says she was reserved and introverted. She had a small circle of friends and studied very hard. She wasn’t bullied, but she also “wasn't part of the popular squad at all”. Her spare time was filled with playing hockey and writing. When she moved schools for sixth-form, however, Parks found kindred spirits. “I was surrounded by people who wanted to be rappers and art directors and curators,” she says. “Having that around me and doing my music made me more extroverted. I had loads of friends and was going to parties all the time, so that was a nice switch”.

Whilst it was good that, by the age of sixteen, Parks was beginning to find like-minded people, there were not a lot of figures in music like her. Although there were not – or are not now – many Black women who played guitar, as is outlined in the interview for The Independent, that did not constrict Parks:

“Nor did she ever feel held back by the narrow boundaries of music genres. There weren’t many black women playing guitar music as she was growing up but, even so, it didn’t discourage her: she says she has always been more interested in seeing herself reflected emotionally, rather than in terms of her sexuality or race.

“I’ve never thought, because I don't see that many people like me making alternative music, it poses a boundary or I can’t do it,” she says. “It makes me think, oh, OK, well I just need to make something new.” Whether it was King Krule, Syd from The Internet, Beth Gibbons from Portishead or Grant from Massive Attack, there was always this sense of, wow, they’re making something vulnerable or something that feels nostalgic or moving,” she adds”.

I want to move along and focus on Parks and her bisexuality. I feel that we are seeing more artists speak about their sexuality and, compared to years ago, one can see a wider discussion happening; a larger spectrum unfurling. There are still those online who will troll and attack artists based on their sexuality but, with greater discussion, I feel there we are seeing greater acceptance – artists who are no longer afraid to speak out and talk about their sexuality. Referring back to The Independent, and it seems that Parks’ experience was quite accepting and not too fraught:

“Parks says there wasn’t a notable “moment” when she came out as bisexual, it was “always just a thing”. Her parents were very accepting and “never made a massive deal” of it. “They were just like, ‘OK, we love you’,” she says. “And I'm so grateful for that. I learned a lot of empathy and openness from my parents. I know so many people who don't have that experience. I have friends who've been kicked out of their homes over it.”

In the close group of mates Parks had at school, which she still has now, there was “an array of different sexualities and gender identities”, so her relationship with her own sexuality was similarly liberated. “I was lucky the people around me were also figuring themselves out and living their realities and going into relationships with whoever they pleased,” she says. “I never felt uncomfortable. I never felt like it was something I had to explain to them. People like to write that it made me sad and confused and angsty, but I never felt that. Of course, as a teenager, no one is 100 per cent self-assured, but it was just never something that I lay awake at night thinking about”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kalpesh Lathigra for The New York Times

I am sort of taking things chronologically, because I want to look back at Arlo Parks’ previous work and rise to prominence before coming fully up to date and exploring her album. I noted how, at twenty, Parks has already achieved so much. In 2018, as we glean from a Billboard interview, things really started to happen for Parks regarding reaching a wider audience:

“In 2018, Parks uploaded demos to BBC Introducing, BBC Radio’s platform for unsigned talent, that caught the attention of DJ Jess Iszatt. Iszatt passed them along to Beatnik Creative’s Ali Raymond, who soon began managing Parks and helped release her debut single, “Cola,” later that year. It earned a co-sign from Lily Allen and has since racked up 13.5 million streams on Spotify. By April 2019, Parks had released her debut EP, Super Sad Generation, and she signed to Transgressive Records two months later. She performed at the Glastonbury Festival that summer and in the fall embarked on her first tour, supporting New Zealand-born Jordan Rakei while promoting her second EP, Sophie”.

I can see why there was such an intense and passionate reaction to Parks’ music fairly early on. I will focus more on her 2019 E.P., Super Sad Generation, in a bit, but, we NME explained in the interview I previously quoted from, Parks barely let her feet touch the ground after that E.P. arrived:

“She’s been busier than most for the past couple of years. She’s signed to the illustrious Transgressive Records (home to the likes of Foals and Two Door Cinema Club) and 2019’s debut EP, ‘Super Sad Generation’, saw her pegged as the voice of Gen Z, weaving her way around lo-fi, indie-leaning R&B to capture the unique blend of anxiety and empowerment that many young people feel in the information age. And all this before she’s even made her debut album, which is currently in the works.

Just months after the release of ‘Super Sad Generation’, she followed it up with the ‘Sophie’ EP, a welcoming listen on which she refrained from overcrowding her sentiment with anything other than gentle guitar and her soft, coaxing voice. “You’re there picking out your flaws from 3am ’til noon / Like the bad kids at school used to do / Well fuck ’em, ’cause you turned out so kind and so cute,” she sings on ‘Angel’s Song’, demonstrating her empath way”.

If one has not heard Super Sad Generation, I feel they owe it to themselves to seek it out. I feel that Collapsed in Sunbeams is a more representative release in terms of who Parks is, through Super Sad Generation is exceptional and hugely accomplished! In an interview with The Face, the warmth and nature of Parks’ lyrics is underlined:

“Parks, for sure, is writing for herself (and by herself). But like fellow west Londoner Beabadoobee and Clairo, Atlanta’s own internet sensation, she’s also writing for the Super Sad Generation, the kids hymned in the title of 2019’s breakout EP, recorded in an AirBnb in Islington, north London. The kids that need to be told, as recounted in beautiful lead track Hurt – a Hottest Record In The World for Radio 1’s Annie Mac – that everything’s going to be OK.

The characters who wander her lyrics feel plucked from a special episode of what you might call Arlo’s World, an imaginary Noughties show you didn’t realise everyone else was secretly watching, too. That person you’re in love with reading Sylvia Plath to someone else, which appears with searing poignancy on Eugene: “I thought that was our thing”. Your dream guy who likes to “quote Thom Yorke and lean in for a quick kiss” but feels just Too Good to be true. People for whom love is a complex thing, often intimately bound up in their identity: Eugene is about the painful, knotty experience of Parks, who is bisexual, falling in love with a straight best friend.

“I think my music will always have that element of intimacy,” she says once we’ve sat down inside, oat cappuccinos and OJ on their way. She likes to write in flats and houses and “can’t really do the whole studio thing”. That comfortability, she thinks, translates to her music. “Because I always feel so comfortable, that’s why it might feel like you’re just overhearing a conversation I’m having with my friend in a bedroom”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Emmanuel Robert Owusu-Afram

On the subjects of warmth and intimacy in Parks’ music, I will refer back to The Guardian interview of 2019. Many of us develop warmth and understanding from people around us but, like many, Parks adopted it closer to home:

“This skill was something she adopted from her parents, whom she describes as “extroverted, warm people”. Her father is from Nigeria, while her mother was born in France. Growing up, she says, “we were always encouraged to talk about our feelings. That sense of transparency, that sense of unconditional acceptance, was instilled in me very young. I feel grateful because not everyone has that. There was nothing that was seen as too small or shameful to discuss”.

I think, as is displayed in the Billboard interview, Parks has always had an affinity and bond with people. We also learn more about Parks’ earliest life and some figures that influenced her writing and way of thinking about the world:

““I’ve always felt very connected to people,” says Arlo Parks (born Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho), whose habit of striking up conversations with strangers sometimes got her in trouble as a kid. As she recalls with a laugh, “I once went up to some woman in the supermarket when I was 3 and was like, ‘Why do you have wrinkles?’ ” At home, she poured her feelings into short stories and poems, inspired by Audre Lorde and Sylvia Plath. She was first motivated to turn her writing into music after listening to English singer King Krule’s debut album, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, as a teenager: “It was very gritty and dark,” she says, “but I felt very moved by it”.

I have also already touched on a lack of representation in terms of relatable Black artists that Parks could draw influence from. Although, in sonic terms, she was influenced by the ‘90s and hooked on that side of things, there were not as many relatable faces as she would have hoped:

“Growing up in the early-90s, there was never a shortage of female artists to find inspiration from, but there was a distinct lack of representation for POC who identify as queer. While it was easy to find empowerment from the likes of Lil' Kim, TLC, Eve and Mýa; if the music that you were listening to didn't fall into the realms of contemporary R&B, hip-hop or pop, it was challenging to find a face that you could relate to. Arlo remembers experiencing a similar thing, but as a true Leo, she was walking her own path even just a decade ago when she was growing up.

"I didn't really feel represented," she says, taking pauses often to contemplate her words. "It was never something that I thought about that much. I felt like maybe I was kind out outside of what I was seeing. I didn't see women of colour – they were probably out there, but from my perspective – making the kind of music that I wanted to make”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Almeida

Not only is there a warmth in Arlo Parks’ music but, running alongside it, one gets an honesty that is frank and refreshing. I will move on to discuss Parks’ approach to mental-health and well-being, but I wanted to bring in an interview from Another Mag of last year. We understand why there is an openness and frankness in her lyrics:

“SM: Your lyrics tend to stand out for their emotional frankness. What do you attribute that quality to?

AP: I’ve always been quite a direct person. As kids if we were ever sulking or upset about something, my parents would always say, “What’s happened? Tell us how you feel.” I always found that really helpful; talking something through and vocalising what’s wrong. I’ve found that internalising things just makes them come up in uglier ways further down the line, so it’s definitely something I’ve tried to maintain throughout my life.

SM: A lot of people can relate to your lyrics. What has the reaction to Caroline been like?

AP: Someone sent me a message the other day and said that the song made them realise that their partner was really trying their best and that [their relationship] couldn’t really have gone any other way. That’s something I didn’t think about at the time, and I love that. You might write about one story, but it can mean a million different things to a million different people”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Kurunis

I shall come to reviewing soon though, when it comes to Arlo Parks, there is so much to explore that paints a larger picture of the artists and her process. I feel that reviews can be too brief that one does not really get an insight into the music and person. I want to firstly refer back to the NME interview, as we learn more about Parks’ association with the mental-health charity, CALM:

“Advocating for a more open conversation around mental health is part of Arlo’s role as a CALM ambassador. She plays virtual shows and shares her experience of managing her own mental health through music and writing. She follows in the footsteps of fellow ambassador Loyle Carner, who has become a firm friend and collaborator, directing the ‘Eugene’ video with his brother Ryan. “I’m glad that l had someone like him,” she says. “His music was one of those early things that I discovered for myself, and his vulnerability inspired me to do the same with my music, especially as a fellow person of colour”.

I want to draw in an interview from The Standard from May 2020, where a newly-appointed ambassador explained more about her lyrical content in the song, Super Sad Generation:

“This month she was made an ambassador for the suicide prevention charity Calm. Having started out writing poetry before she began putting her words to music, she filmed a spoken word piece to mark her involvement. That, and the lyrics of her earlier song Super Sad Generation (“When did we get so skinny?/Start doing ketamine on weekends/Getting wasted at the station/And trying to keep our friends from death”) might set her up as a smart, sharp spokesperson on youth issues, but she’s not so sure.

“I wasn’t trying to say that everyone in my generation is miserable,” she explains. “That song is a snapshot, capturing the mood of a particular afternoon, the people around me and their struggles. I didn’t want it to be a negative song. There is a prevalence of mental health problems, but there is also a lot of hope, a lot of ambition, a lot of activism, people taking action to achieve change”.

Next, I want to explore Parks’ influence; not just in terms of music, but literature and poetry. Maybe there were not a lot of relatable artists in terms of colour and sexuality when Parks was growing up but, musically, there are a number of interesting artists Parks has referred to in her music – as we discover in the NME interview I have already sourced from:

"Always quick to cite her inspirations, Parks is an artist you can get to know a little better through the names she peppers through her catalogue with – ‘Cola’ name-checks My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way, ‘Black Dog’ mentions The Cure frontman Robert Smith and ‘Eugene’ references poet Sylvia Plath. It’s an endearing trait of fandom that gets to the heart of her sincerity, giving her work an extra dose of reality. Will she be continuing that habit on her debut album?

“There are certain artists whose names I just love the sound of,” she says. “Moses Sumney, for example – I just want to include him! I’ve got a little list for the album. I definitely love the name-dropping – it will never stop,” she laughs”.

When it comes to Collapsed in Sunbeams, Parks could have reverted to her childhood music or listened to music that was more negative and emotional. Instead, as she revealed to DIY last year, there was plenty of uplift and eclectic sounds:

“Where many artists talk about shutting the world out and turning their speakers off for six months around the making of a record, Arlo explains that she went fully the other way, immersing herself in everything that could possibly provoke a new idea, from hours spent listening to old classics (“‘Rubber Soul’, ‘Baduizm’, Joni Mitchell, Elliot Smith”) to moments where she’d flit happily between Aphex Twin and Miles Davis. “We were just completely in music mode, immersing ourselves completely into so many different worlds, and [the album is] a fusion of all those things,” she explains. “I feel like the only way I can feel inspired is by listening to music constantly. When I’m trying to write, I listen to music even more; I’m just always listening to things.”

It’s an attitude that’s always shone through in Arlo’s music, where this wide myriad of influences is allowed to nestle up and inform the person at its centre. Lyrically, meanwhile, she hopes that her debut will do the same but in reverse: “I feel like my aim is to make the hyper-subjective feel universal; for people to feel immersed in my world, but also be able to see themselves in every song,” she nods, “so I can talk about something that feels very personal to me but it will remind them of a time in their lives or a person and they still feel connected to it - that’s always been my mission statement, as it were”.

I think that, perhaps more than music itself, poetry and literature is a greater force on Parks’ life and intellect. Like Kae Tempest, I feel that Parks is a poet as much as she is a songwriter – in the sense her lyrics are so detailed, propound and affecting; she ascends to a ratified plain. Thinking about literature and, as she discussed with The Face, it is quite a big part of her life:

“Literature certainly hasn’t taken a backseat – having written short stories from the age of seven, she still dreams of writing a novel and is currently halfway through her first poetry collection. But for now she feels more comfortable practising economical storytelling with emotional heart. She cites Frank Ocean as the master of this. “Obviously there is a story behind it, but there’s a lot of him just glimpsing different images, and being quite surreal with it, and I like that.

It’s why she got into poetry in the first place, why she went through a phase of obsessively writing haikus. “They taught me how to condense a whole year of a relationship: something this big into something this small. And that’s kinda what a song is – telling a story in just a few verses.”

Less plot, then, more vibes. Eyelids that are purple, kisses that are amethyst. “I’m definitely all about images,” she smiles. “I’m all about the flowers.”

That visual flair has taken Parks in other interesting directions, too. This summer she graduated from making her own music videos to co-directing a short film for Gucci, titled Knotted Gold, in which she also stars, reciting some of her poetry. Set by the sea in Margate, its feel and flavour were influenced by watching a lot of Wong Kar-Wai and Wes Anderson films. “I wanted those colour schemes and that sense of surrealness to come through”.

I might look at poetry in more depth a bit later, but I want to finish off the pre-review segment by looking at Collapsed in Sunbeams. Lockdown and the pandemic has affected many artists in different ways. As she told DIY, it seemed the strange situation was a source of energy and focus for her:

“So motivated was Arlo, in fact, that she’s emerged out the other side with her debut record complete and ready to go. Bedding down in an East London Airbnb with her regular producer just as everything hit, she spent the first fortnight cocooned in a writing bubble, taking full advantage of the strange freedom the situation afforded her. “I just wrote for two weeks straight and didn’t go outside. I felt like I was in another dimension because I literally had no other responsibilities on this earth, which I was so grateful for. All I had to do was write music,” she enthusiastically recalls.

“I would just go to bed super late and spend the early hours finding songs and send [my producer] in the next room a very sleep deprived text being like, ‘So the kick drum from that ‘In Rainbows’ song but more crunchy’, and then I’d stumble out in my dressing gown the next morning. There was no glamour…”.

It must have been quite worrying thinking about a debut album and then a pandemic arrives and potentially threatens to scupper that momentum and optimism! For an artists who was tipped for big things and was hoping to tour a lot in 2020, it could have been quite damaging for Parks. When she was interviewed by Another Mag, the question of the pandemic/her album arose:

“SM: How has the pandemic impacted work on your debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams?

AP: The reason why it was so helpful was really being able to sit with my thoughts and really think about what message I want to put forward and what I wanted it to sound like, because I’ve never written an album before. Having that extra time really gave me space to breathe and to experiment as well.

I think Collapsed in Sunbeams is definitely a product of its environment, but I guess I’ll never know whether I would have done this anyway. We kept the same method in terms of getting an Airbnb and writing and recording in there. I approached it very much song by song, I would just wake up and say OK, I’ve been listening to Nick Drake or I’ve been listening to Portishead; let’s do something like that today. I tried to not put pressure on myself. I was very concerned before the pandemic about finding a thread and knowing what the concept was going to be, but having space allowed me to just focus on each song as it came”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Kurunis

The last segment I want to explore before coming to my review is Arlo Parks’ songwriting process. I am always intrigued about songwriters’ process and how they create. Returning to the interview from DORK, and we learn more about Parks’ approach to songwriting:

“As someone who is continually journaling and making a note of their thoughts, Arlo has an endless stream of words that she can manifest into music. Rather than sitting down with a conscientious intent to produce a body of work, she likes to let the creativity flow naturally. "It's something that I try not to overthink because the best songs that I've written have been when I'm just not getting in the way of myself and I'm just letting myself be expressive," she says earnestly.

"All of the songs that I've put out, and my favourite songs of my own, have just been done in a very short period of time. It hasn't been hours spent trying to figure out the melody. It's all just kind of come out," she offers. This ties into her belief that words come out precisely the way they were supposed to be. As someone with a self-confessed short attention span, it's a beneficial way to write because you're getting to the root of what you intended to say. "I think stream of consciousness is a powerful tool for me, personally, just because you don't have the time to overthink anything and you can be completely honest with yourself about what you're feeling”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlie Cummings

The song I have selected to review from Collapsed in Sunbeams is my favourite song. It is also the most-recent single: the stunning Hope. It is a sublime song that boasts a very touching and memorable video (it features Molly Windsor and is directed by Molly Budett). Compared to some songs on Collapsed in Sunbeams, there is something quite laidback and almost Jazz-like on Hope – listen to a song like Caroline, and one gets something more energised and urgent. I really love Parks’ delivery on Hope and the rich and interesting composition. In this song, we get one of the most obvious explicit and obvious examples of Parks being this modern poet who can write like no other songwriter. Consider the opening verse: “Millie tried to talk the pleasure back into being alive/Reminiscing 'bout the apricots and blunts on Peckham Rye/Won't call her friends 'cause she's ashamed of staying locked into bed/Can't feel her legs and feeling like a liar at best”. Parks stated on Facebook how it was a delight to star in the video as ‘Nat’ alongside Molly Windsor playing ‘Millie. The two are very affectionate through the video…and it is wonderfully heart-warming to see them in a beautifully-shot video that could almost be a short film (I wonder if Parks has considered turning the songs from Collapsed in Sunbeams into a short film?!). The detail and observations we get from Parks in that opening verse is amazing. Her voice carries wisdom, warmth and an underlying sense of fear and sadness that, combined, creates this heady and moving brew! Many of Parks’ lyrics pertain to reaching out and her speaking to various figures – whether it is Millie in Hope, or the titular Caroline -; her stating that they are not alone. In the chorus, Parks’ voice rises in warmth and power as she sings: “You're not alone like you think you are/You're not alone like you think you are/We all have scars, I know it's hard”. Alongside fascinating poetry and sublime lyrics, there are these simple sentiments that we can all relate to and, especially now, can appreciate!

PHOTO CREDIT: Molly Burdett

It seems like Millie is someone who has been carrying anxiety and sadness but, rather than be open and reveal her pain, she has kept it hidden. Perhaps this is because she fears few will understand or relate. In the second verse, we get this very striking imagery and familial interaction: “Started sweating bullets when her dad asked, "How d'you really feel?"/She said, "I've been feeling like something inside me wants to scream"/Won't call my friends, I'm persuaded that they'll leave in the end/Can't feel my legs, I'm feeling like a liar at best”. We get scenes of Molly Windsor sitting along and feeling isolated. This then leads to her and Arlo Parks laughing together. Parks affectionately touches her hand and the two of them are enraptured in moments of release and happiness. It is moving to see; this amazing video perfectly brings to life what Parks is sating in the song! The bridge takes the song down again in terms of its pace. Whether Parks is speaking as Millie or she is talking about herself, there is a slight distortion on her voice as we get this very focused and moving bridge: “I've often felt like I was born under a bad sign/Wearing suffering like a silk garment or a spot of blue ink/Looking for light and finding a hole where there shouldn't be one/I cannot communicate the depth of the feeling/Truth is I'm still learning to be open about this/But know that I know and you're not alone/Yeah, know that I know and you're not alone”. The chorus concludes the song but, in the video things end with the two running down to the beach and jumping and frolicking by the waves. I am not sure where the video was shot, but it seems like Molly Windsor and Arlo Parks had a blast filming it! Hope is a magnificent song. It is one of many jewels on the remarkable Collapsed in Sunbeams.

I am going to wrap things up soon, but I want to cover a couple more things off before doing so. There is a lot of love and expectation at the feet of Arlo Parks right now, that one could forgive her for having quite heady ambitions regarding her career. It seems, as she explained to The Standard, that her goals are more grounded and modest (than worldwide fame):

“Her musical ambitions are similarly modest in one sense. Asked about the scale of success she is hoping for, she says she always wanted to play at the Hammersmith Apollo because she used to walk past it on the way to school. But back at home, she’s also reminded of a list she wrote early on, and keeps next to her computer, of the reasons she makes music. “It sounds cheesy to say it, but I think my motivation has always been to help others. When I was younger, music really saved me, and felt like a refuge for me when I was in quite a lost space. I just want to talk to people, and I guess in a way, feel understood myself,” she says. “If I ever feel weird, or it feels like a storm, I just look at that list and know exactly who I am again”.

One of the most defining features of Arlo Parks is how personable she is. In terms of interviewees, one could hardly hope for a better subject! She has this instant and easy connection with people that, as many have said, it is like you are chatting to an old mate – even when you have just met her! I want to explore that by returning to The Face and their interview:

“This overwhelming sense of intimacy also permeates our conversation. At times I feel like a teenager again, sharing soft-spoken secrets in the library. But that never lasts, as before long she sideswipes me with her stunning musical vocabulary. Parks speaks with incredible poise – she barely swears once – and there’s a cool queenliness to the woman born Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho. Plus she admits to being “snobby about coffee”. Proper grown-up stuff, right?

Up for discussion is everything from Virginia Woolfe (“the way she uses language is just so effortless. There are moments when I’m reading and I’m like, where is this going? But it all ties up in the end”), to psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s theory of the “collective unconscious”, to the symbolic content of her dreams. As you might expect from someone who spends a lot of time in her bedroom, hers are weird”.

Not only does this intrigue and sense of wonder exist in interviews but, when it comes to Parks’ online content, there is something wonderfully interesting and unique – as we learn from the interview DORK conducted last year:

“She may feel out of touch with the inherent internet culture of her generation, but Arlo is a thoroughly enigmatic character to follow on Instagram as she offers snapshots into her daily inspiration as well as snippets into future projects. ‘Cola’ was recorded while eating noodles, and ‘Eugene’ was made with pizza on the brain – what kind of cuisine was fuelling the album process?

It turns out, Mexican may just be the king of Arlo’s eating habits at the moment, with Italian following as a close second. Cooking has proved to be somewhat of a salvation for Arlo, during lockdown. “The idea of actually meditating, like sitting still, is really difficult for me but if I’m cooking, going for a run, or painting; that’s meditation”.

If you have not listened to Collapsed in Sunbeams, then go stream or buy the album – I have put a link at the top of the review if you want to buy a copy. Even though she is very young and has just really started her career, I feel that Parks is going to be an icon of the future. She is an ambassador this year’s Independent Venue Week (grassroots venues were key to Parks when it came to getting her music out to people; they still remain essential to her), and, as she works closely with CALM, I feel Parks is someone we should show so much love and support to. Even though it is still January, on Collapsed in Sunbeams, Arlo Parks has released…