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

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