Alright, I might have lied a little – Arlo Parks isn’t quite recent enough to be considered a “new” artist. Chances are, you’ve probably already heard this singer-songwriter and Londoner playing somewhere over the past year, likely on indie radio stations and “chill” or “alternative” Spotify playlists.
Arlo Parks (the stage name of Anais Marinho) broke onto the indie-music scene during the pandemic with her debut studio album Collapsed in Sunbeams, which received critical acclaim in London and the UK. The 40-minute album won the 2021 Mercury Prize (an award for up-and-coming artists from Ireland and the UK) and was even nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Grammys.
Although this album garnered Parks a devoted fan base among indie listeners, its members were quite a few in the United States up until 2023. Now, with the release of her sophomore album, My Soft Machine, Arlo has cemented herself as an artist to watch on the indie scene and has begun to reach a larger audience in the United States. If you’re a fan like me, you may have even caught her show in Denver on March 13th, part of a North American tour that sold out many dates.
So why is Parks gaining so much attention now?
Part of the appeal is her trademark “faded” sound, popular among many indie listeners and the perfect soundtrack to sun-dazed afternoons, early-morning commutes, and late-night cram sessions. My Soft Machine is a twelve-track album full of ethereal, drifting songs, cut through by bold guitar melodies and soft drum tracks, a sound that Parks claimed as her own when her first album dropped back in 2021.
Beyond the instrumentals, Arlo Parks’ lyric writing is a thing of beauty. Parks’ soft voice and melodic accent blend perfectly with the music to match her reflective sound, and her lyrics add even more complexity to the sophisticated album.
Arlo Parks seems to consider herself more of a poet than a musician… in fact, according to Glamour magazine, Collapsed in Sunbeams was started as a series of poems that Parks put to music. She never truly stops writing, constantly composing poems while on tour and even publishing her own collection of poetry, The Magic Border. Her poetic language shines through in My Soft Machine, with lyrics full of rich imagery, metaphors, and allusions that describe in detail the settings, emotions, and sensory experiences associated with the subjects of each song. These topics range from painful memories of lost love and friendship to peaceful slices of life and romantic depictions of those she loves.
One of my personal favorite songs on the album is “Devotion”, which opens with the lines, “Got me falling on my sword, but I don’t resent you / Shaking to Deftones, glitter in my bones / Love you like I don’t know better.” This song has a heavier sound than Parks’ typical floating lullabies, closer to the rock genre than softcore indie, and showcases a striking guitar melody. Some other songs that are currently popular in the U.S. include “Weightless,” a melodic tune about a one-sided relationship, and “Pegasus,” a light, airy collaboration with indie icon Phoebe Bridgers.
Overall, Arlo Parks’ My Soft Machine is a beautiful, resonant album, full of artistic accounts of trauma, love, and identity. Parks’ sophomore production demands recognition for its masterful composition, lyrics, and delivery, further establishing her as a brilliant artist and one to keep an eye out for in the years to come.