Arlo Parks – 'Softly'
Known for her soft introspections and lush romanticisms with colour, Arlo Parks is back with her latest melancholy release in tow.
Acting as the first release since her Mercury Prize winning record Collapsed In Sunbeams, ‘Softly’ moves in the same vein. Teeming with longing in a heartache narrative of emotional intimacy, Parks wears her heart on her sleeve as she braces for her world to crumble.
Poignant lyrics are set to a delicate soundscape of insistent piano lines and rushing percussion, as Park’s highlights the pleading nature of a ‘soft’ heartbreak in avoidance of total emotional collapse. Lush vocalisations make for an infectious looped chorus and hook where Park’s allows herself a rare tiptoe into the world of pop.
Divulging on the track, Parks confesses "'Softly' is a song about yearning, about how fragile you feel in the dying days of a relationship when you’re still desperately in love. The song is about how it feels to brace yourself before the blow of a breakup and reminisce about the days where it all felt luminous."
Joining Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Clairo on their respective tours, 2022 is set to be a big year for the London singer-songwriter.
Words by Alannah Jade Williams
Beren Olivia is authentically herself on ‘if we’re being honest’
Searing, empowering and an exciting sign of what we can look forward to, Ella Eyre’s new single is a testament to her ability to write a brilliant tune.
Selling out two nights at London’s Eventim Apollo, heartbreak has never sounded so good as screaming ‘wish I could get a little undrunk so I could uncall you / At five in the morning, I would unfuck you’ with FLETCHER.
Filth-funk connoisseurs Opus Kink present a sultry, sinister and synth-laden rendezvous on their first release of 2024, ‘I Wanna Live With You’.
A song about kindness with a mod-like bite that demonstrates the maturity and experience of what Rifles fans have come to admire.
Kentucky born and bred six-piece Cage The Elephant let loose on their sixth full-length album, diving into restless sentiments and turbulent experiences.
No one else quite operates in the visionary realms of Home Counties.
‘Total Engagement’ is a beachy, drum-bouncing track with a joyfully 90s aesthetic, neatly slotted into two fly-by minutes.
bloody/bath take us down a dark, bewitching path with new single ‘Suffering’.
Singer-songwriter Giorgia piva - aka georgia, georgia enchants us further with new single ‘comphet’.
This week’s Band of the Week is Kent indie rock quartet Indoor Pets - who have just released their new album ‘Pathetic Apathetic’ via Alcopop! Records.
Bollo Bollo return with their most expansive track to date! New single ‘Portable Terminal’ sees the band fueling the likes of Soft Play and Don Broco - they show us exactly why they are one of the best new bands coming out of Buckinghamshire at the moment.