A resonant Gen Z voice, Arlo Parks sings of hope in the dark. The 20-year-old British singer-songwriter conceived Collapsed in Sunbeams, her newly released debut album, during the perilous months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her poetic vignette songs ache with human experience, tackling deep subjects like depression, sexuality, and prejudice with a truthful tenderness.
Collapsed in Sunbeams opens with a spoken word piece that encapsulates the album’s theme—the beauty of being broken and made whole. “Collapsed in sunbeams, stretched out open to beauty however brief or violent,” Parks says with a searching intimacy, “We’re all learning to trust our bodies, making peace with our own distortions / You shouldn’t be afraid to cry in front of me. I promise.”
Parks’s songs feel like phone calls with a friend. “Black Dog” is about caring for a loved one suffering from depression. “Bluish” is about setting boundaries in a claustrophobic relationship. “Hope” is an anthem of solidarity, with a rally cry of a chorus, written for anyone who needs to not feel alone. Parks comforts you by providing a space for solace. Here, she sings, “you are not alone.”
At the same time, Parks’s songs center on a nourishing warmth: accepting yourself, building relationships, and learning from losses. “Green Eyes” is about losing a lover to homophobic judgements; Parks offers her partner understanding and kindness, taking the breakup as a lesson to live her own life authentically. The album’s euphoric ending “Portra 400” is a coming-of-age track reminiscent of the closing credits to The Breakfast Club—like walking off on a high.
As a whole, Collapsed in Sunbeams is bittersweet. “I wanted a sense of balance,” Parks told Apple Music, “The record had to face the difficult parts of life in a way that was unflinching but without feeling all-consuming and miserable. It also needed to carry that undertone of hope, without feeling naive.”
In other words, her music balances hope and darkness with empathy. She provides a way forward by “making rainbows out of something painful.”
This article contains an affiliate link(s). Learn more.
