Description
Mixing soft spoken word poetry, understated soul and indie pop Arlo Parks’s new album ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ has a uniquely fresh style which sets her apart in the current British music scene. By opening the album with a poem, almost whispered to us, she immediately creates a safe space, saying you shouldn’t be afraid to cry in front of me, wishing us peace from our own distortions.
It helps that Parks has a keen eye for specific detail and storytelling. Hurt looks closely at the world around her and reminds us ‘it won’t hurt so much forever’. What might sound youthfully naive to some or a trite soundbite to others is transformed into a quietly powerful mantra through her soft, comforting voice and laid back musical style.
This warm and friendly feel is central to the appeal of songs like Too Good and Hope. On the latter she offers us reciprocity with a reminder that ‘we all have scars’ and ‘you’re not alone’. Compared to the sarcastic bite of British pop stars like Lily Allen or the brutal realism of Amy Winehouse these songs lack cutting edge but somehow they are better for it. Offering a hand to hold can be revolutionary in its own way.
On the final song she vows to make ‘rainbows’ out of pain. A glimpse of colour among the gloom is exactly what ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ offers. Arlo Parks is only twenty years old and on this evidence her voice will be a guiding light for many years to come.
