If you weren’t already keeping an eye on Arlo Parks, it’s time to tune in. The London singer-songwriter has just shared her latest single ‘Green Eyes’, and with it comes even more good news: her debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams (a Zadie Smith reference) is really on its way. After promising on Twitter: “wtf the album is like done done. like DONE DONE”, Parks confirmed today that Collapsed in Sunbeams is set for release on January 29, via Transgressive.
Oh my gosh I can’t believe I’m finally saying this man, I’m tearing up a bit as I write this…can’t wait for you to hear it!!! The vid for green eyes will be out at 7pm. So much news! I’m so fkin pumped You can pre-order my album now!! https://t.co/TBcIrJT1Lu
— Arlo Parks (@arloparks) October 20, 2020
According to a press release, Parks’ album is “a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia – I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific.” When asked by Gigwise what inspires her songs, she declared “My friends, flowers, after-parties, living rooms, parks, beaches and long drives.” Somewhere in these remarkably eloquent and intentional descriptions, you have the full picture of what Parks is capable of.
Latest single ‘Green Eyes’ borrows the talented vocals of US singer and all-round legend Clairo, and their combined voices and Parks’ incredible song-writing is breath-taking at points. ‘Green Eyes’ is sort of a bit dreamy, hazy, indie, a bit beats-driven and chill, and even a bit early 2000s pop all at once. Lyrically, it is nothing short of poetic. Parks delves into her early and bittersweet romantic memories, and her experience of her sexuality growing up. “Of course I know why we lasted two months / Could not hold my hand in public” is heart-wrenching.
Parks is not exactly known for shying away from complicated and potentially heavy subject matter. ‘Black Dog’, the first single from the album now known as Collapsed In Sunbeams, presents the realities of mental illness with stark and tragic honesty. She has been called the “voice of a generation” multiple times, a description which Parks takes seriously. Without becoming hung up on the term ‘gen-z’, it’s true that Parks, like many of her contemporaries, carries a weight in her song-writing that seems to derive from any combination of social media, mental health awareness and the specific experience of being a teenager in the last decade.
Arlo Parks has had a crazy busy year. Some highlights include: putting out three amazing singles and a string of moving covers, embarking on her first headline tour, winning the AIM Independent Music Award for One to Watch, winning over almost every radio DJ and working on some incredible collaborations. The latest of these include her recent appearance on Glass Animals’ live stream for a new version of ‘Tangerine’, and her Radio 1 Live Session with Phoebe Bridgers, recorded in a church. Just recently, she shared her first cover in French for Deezer’s InVersions mixtape (Park’s mother is French, so she considered it a special moment).
When Parks embarked on 2020, she was fresh out of her A-Levels, ready to headline a tour and generally right on the edge of something great. Despite, well, everything, this year has truly been hers. When New Year rolls around, she will be set to release her debut album and we can expect her to well and truly take off.
