Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams Review
Sunbeams is the hug from a friend, the cup of tea on a cold evening and the casual afternoon in the pub garden all in one.
“You shouldn’t be afraid to cry in front of me. I promise” closes the opening track of Arlo Parks’ debut, a poem which inspired the album. It’s a sign of the intimacy packed into Collapsed in Sunbeams, and its underlying message of beauty in everything, of perpetually changing feelings, of evaluating self-worth. This is an album of “making peace with our own distortions'' and of the delicacy of artichoke hearts.
The record’s post-millennial at its core for its ability to convey vulnerability so delicately and display complex emotion and hopefulness nurtured ahead of a lifetime lived. Parks’ storytelling feels highly empathetic and deeply personal depending on the mood you are in when you listen. And musically, the warmth emanating from every track oozes maturity and class. Every character and every diary entry are soaked in intuition, depth and keen observation, making this dreamlike jazz-pop neo-soul debut an instant classic.
We are introduced to our first character early on in ‘Hurt’: Charlie, who drinks to feel anything other than his pain. Arlo ensures she remains patiently in support of Charlie repeating that this “won’t hurt so much forever” over a slick bass, echoing until Charlie is ready to hear. In ‘Caroline’ we meet an arguing couple, the kind of argument in which all parties think they are right and have tried their hardest, making an atmosphere all the more painful for its unavoidability. There’s a gentle, tickling riff and soothing rhythm under the hazy vocal and catchy breath of the choral “Caroline” that amount to a sort of hopeful sadness: a nostalgia in an unhappy but understandable ending.
The most overt pop hook can be found in slow burner ‘Hope’ in which we meet Millie, another study in mental strife to whom Arlo is trying to get through. “You’re not alone like you think you are” is the most delicious earworm but it’s the bridge which shines with a subtle vulnerability, Arlo using imagery and an admission of her own blocks in opening up, creating a route to mutual understanding between herself as narrator and Millie as subject. ‘Black Dog’ takes the spotlight off the loneliness of a sole subject such as Millie or Charlie and opens up as a letter to anybody and everybody feeling isolated. Arlo is an ambassador of CALM and her poetry and music arrive into the pandemic as both empathy and conversation starter, all underpinned by meticulous soul.
‘Too Good’ feels a step away from empathy and into the completely personal, where Arlo is suffering from an infatuation with somebody who keeps pulling away, never committing. Parks concludes that her love interest is “too good to be true” and she might just be right. The irresistible post-chorus and outro line of “why’d we make the simplest things so hard” resonates for its beautifully catchy jagged vocal and its comment over human complexity. ‘Green Eyes’ deals with the end of a short-lived relationship, caused by judgement and hate of parents’ generations, while the excellent ‘Eugene’ tells of a relationship that never was, another infatuation Arlo suffers, this time with an old friend, and heterosexual girl. Parks’ own struggles come clearer in the back half of the album, as in ‘Eugene’ in which her pain and confusion rendered her speechless. In ‘Just Go’ Arlo is upbeat and rejective of her ex-lover, banishing them with a controlled anger repeated through “Why don’t you just go?” But the fire fades into the most tender moment on the record in ‘For Violet’. Arlo is unable to cope with supporting a struggling friend. As nothing is changing, she “can’t do this”. A stark reminder here that not everyone can be helped all the time and your own needs have to take the forefront at least some of that time.
Sunbeams is the hug from a friend, the cup of tea on a cold evening and the casual afternoon in the pub garden all in one. It’s subtle in its volumes and hides its ambitions beneath its mellowness but will continue its reach and influence far and wide. The best part is, you know you could be sitting around Arlo’s place with a few friends as she performs the record for you and would feel exactly the same as a night sold out at the Albert Hall. It’s neat, laidback, effortless and radiant in its relaxation, and continues a tradition of quality albums to kick off 2021.