Album Review - Arlo Parks: My Soft Machine

SOFT 7/10

Arlo Parks is from London, UK. (Photo courtesy of Interview Magazine)

One of the greatest beauties in songwriting is when words can truly convey what the artist vocalizing it means. The abstract labyrinth of verbosity that comes with the enigmatic minds of a David Byrne or Earl Sweatshirt is not necessarily better or worse than the direct bluntness of artists like Drake, but how the wordplay appeals to the sonic essence of the music at hand is what matters. Arlo Parks has carved out a space for herself within this spectrum similar to singer/songwriters like Phoebe Bridgers or Snail Mail where words that seem like stream of consciousness upon inspection flow delicately over justly catered production. No clearer is this in My Soft Machine than with its introductory track “Bruiseless” that sees Parks poetically express herself over a lo-fi instrumental which is told in a narrative format that would not be discernible by the inflection of Parks’ delivery. The song glosses over Parks’ desire of a return to youthful adolescence that reflects upon a “patience” and nonchalance that has naturally dissipated with the assumed responsibilities of growing up, as she ends by stating “I just wish that my eyes were still wide”.

It becomes clear in Park’s second track “Impurities” that she finds solace in vicariously living through forms of idealization, often with references to cinema like her shout-out to Juliette Binoche. Still, Parks’ does not lose the plot by remaining clear with her words in the second verse to articulate the love that she initially finds only definable through pop-culture analogies. Parks kicks off “Devotion” by harmonizing in collaboration with the guitar-riddled production with more allusions to her favorite creatives; in this case it’s Deftones. The way she occasionally geeks out about these figures does not come off as a novelty or an easter-egg for fans, but is included in the natural rhythm of her lyricism that highlights the personality that Parks attempts to portray through her sound.

“Blades” is a groovy ballad that halts for ethereal chorus breaks. The song provides a sort of tunnel vision into a clear moment of personal conflict within Parks during a moment of celebration like a party. It’s very poppy and still relies on Parks’ soft-spoken candor to reminisce on a potentially forsaken love: ”We grew apart when you were fighting with your sister, I/Don't think I realised how horribly I miss you now/Regret is flowering inside me while I'm scooping ice.”

“Purple Phase” is a more prototypical ballad that describes a new era of indulgence– that presumptively results from a higher public profile –and how Parks hides it through tangible methods like by wearing “aviators” or by simply “promising to rise above the thoughts.” It feels like the type of track that should culminate in a boisterous chorus of emotion, but Parks opts for a more muted and repetitive one that doesn’t suit the intensity of the verses appropriately. The same themes apply to “Weightless”, another song that follows a trend of Parks being confronted with rude awakenings within her personal life: “I'm starved of your affection/You're crushed under the pressure/But you won't change.” “Pegasus” featuring Phoebe Bridgers never tries to do too much with its melodies or the duo’s layered vocals, but it’s hard for me to shake off the feeling of it sounding like a more refined version of a Melanie Martinez song from Cry Baby.

“Dog Rose” is a completely different style than what has been presented thus far, as Parks seems to lean into some Bedroom Pop, while the subsequent “Puppy” is a stark contrast with its amorphous song structure that returns to a form similar to the album’s first track. “Ghost”’s production is reminiscent of Steve Lacy’s instrumentation on Kali Uchis’ “Just A Stranger”, except Parks uses the synths and keys as a soft and less pronounced backing.

Parks hits tentative creative strides throughout My Soft Machine, but feels too relaxed at times to the extent that the intensity of her words are emotionally superfluous in juxtaposition to the production that coats it. Nonetheless, Parks is distinctly in touch with her sensibilities that creates an intimate experience unlike what most singer/songwriters provide in the mainstream nowadays.