We’ve been big fans of Arlo Parks and her delicate, soft-pop sound for some time now, and we’re not alone: the Londoner has already appeared on the front cover of NME and been named BBC Introducing Artist Of The Year. Oh, and did we mention Michelle Obama is a fan? Not bad support for a singer and songwriter who, until last week, was yet to drop her first album.

But while the UK – and much of the world – spent 2020 in lockdown, Parks was busy releasing a collection of superbly crafted, soulful and smart pop songs than earned her a loyal following, and built the hype surrounding Collapsed In Sunbeams – her long-awaited full length debut – to fever pitch. And now it’s here.

The first thing newcomers to Parks will notice is the richness and smoothness of her voice. Listening to Parks is truly a mesmerising and dreamy experience based on the quality of her vocals alone. But another key piece of the puzzle in what makes her so fantastic is the things she sings about, and the way she weaves such evocative stories into her songs.

She had been scheduled to complete her first headline tour of Europe this time roughly a year ago, only for the Coronavirus pandemic to force the cancellation of those shows. Instead, Parks dropped the singles Eugene and Black Dog last Spring, both of which quickly gained glowing reviews and let the British public know they had another star in the making. Black Dog, on which she sings about rescuing a friend from emotional collapse, and Eugene, which discusses falling in love with her straight best friend (Parks is bisexual), demonstrate her incredible ability to build a narrative into her songs.

Parks herself might not feel comfortable with the suggestion she is a star though. In interviews, she has spoken about growing up as a shy child with a love of literature, while the surface-level softness of her music masks an artist who is not afraid to dive into difficult subjects.

Alluding to that love of literature, Collapsed In Sunbeams opens with a spoken word piece that encapsulates much of the essence of Parks and her music. Emotionally honest, gloriously lyrical, on this intro she assures us “You shouldn’t be afraid to cry in front of me.” Parks is an ambassador for the mental health charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and identity, attitudes towards mental health and sexuality, and addressing internal struggles are themes that appear again and again throughout the record.

Another standout early single, Hurt, dances around joyfully while addressing these themes head on (“I know you can't let go / Of anything at the moment / Just know it won't hurt so / Won't hurt so much forever), before Too Good, a big, bassy, bold number, comes along and welcomes in some of the sunshine of album’s title. But Parks is never far away from delivering another powerful punch through the layers of warm, jazz-infused, laid-back folk pop, like on Hope where she sings “You're not alone like you think you are / We all have scars, I know it's hard”.

Green Eyes is built around a low-key riff that Parks uses to construct a powerful chorus, and like much of the high notes of Collapsed In Sunbeams, it has a bright, breezy, summery feel, with a powerful torrent of emotion gushing beneath the surface (“I wish that your parents had been kinder to you / They made you hate what you were out of habit / Remember when they caught us making out after school / Your dad said he'd felt like he lost you”).

Perhaps the most staggering thing about Collapsed In Sunbeams is that Parks is only just out of her teenage years. It’s truly intimidating when you consider how accomplished, how refined, how utterly absorbing this debut album is. It’s a record that, without a doubt, signals the arrival of a very special artist, with some very powerful stories to tell.

Collapsed In Sunbeams track list:

1. Collapsed In Sunbeams

2. Hurt

3. Too Good

4. Hope

5. Caroline

6. Black Dog

7. Green Eyes

8. Just Go

9. For Violet

10. Eugene

11. Bluish

12. Portra 400

Watch the official video for Hope below.

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.