Coming off the heels of Grammy-nominated “Collapsed in Sunbeams” Arlo Parks’ debut album from 2021, her sophomore release “My Soft Machine” is an expanded and poetry-rich step forward for Parks, even if it’s more of the same.

On The Cusp of Something Perfect 

Following the release of the single “Weightless” there was so much riding for me on this new album. I wanted more from Parks’ knack for lyrics that sound like they could come from a poetry collection overlayed with flowing indie beats. The first lines give just that. With delectable lyrics that are steeped in the senses as she sings “Cardamom and jade as your eyes streamed / On the night you showed your volcanic side.” The song is a thesis in a sense to the whole album, about the very things that make up relationships, dripping in longing. This theme is carried throughout the album about the euphoria of love and the aching pain of losing that love. Even more, it’s also about one-sided love, and every song that follows suit of “Weightless” is of this ilk.

Many of the songs mesh with each other making it hard to identify where one starts and the next ends. With so many emotionally lucrative lines and lyrics, they become weighed down by an almost homogenous sound that is enjoyable but doesn’t quite stand out sonically. All of the songs are easy on the ears yet repetitive in nature that I was left wanting more variety in sound. The opening song “Bruiseless” is more of an introductory manifesto than a complete song. It works for its purpose introducing the feeling of heartache from everyone Parks’ knows having been abused, yet she finds solace in love and being in love. Perhaps even more striking and some of the best lyrics in the whole album are “The person I love is patient with me / She’s feeding me cheese and I’m happy / Like a peony ripped by the chain of a dirt bike.” The feeling is all too relatable and it’s delectable to the ears, an emotion captured within the poetic musicality of Parks’ rich oeuvre.

A Few Standouts and A Collaboration With Phoebe Bridgers

Due to the aforementioned repetitive and homogenous nature of much of this album’s sounds, there are few standouts than expected in the album. Perhaps the most interesting to me next to “Pegasus (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)” is the song “Blades.” The tune of the song is resoundingly upbeat and dance-worthy. Like something found in a dance video or listening to wistfully walking home on a sunny summer day. Carrying on the same themes of love and longing, it’s a certified summer bop and a standout for this record.

The other standout is the song “Pegasus (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)” which is perhaps the pinnacle of saccharine and sumptuous love songs in Parks’ work so far. The song is so coated in romance and heart-rending emotion that it’s almost too sappy but still wonderful, like a love poem to a lover. The song is bolstered by a collaboration with indie star Phoebe Bridgers which is ultimately a snug fit with Arlo Parks’ musical style. Yet the feature is perhaps subtler than it should be. Bridgers’ signature melancholic vocals mesh and also muddle with Parks’ vocals as she is just used for backup vocals and becomes almost unnoticeable. With a feature of this level, it would have been nice to have a full verse from Bridgers rather than what we got in the end.

Overall, the record isn’t bad by any means. The sound of many of the songs are repetitive and often mesh with each other but with flowy beats and rich lyrics. “My Soft Machine” is easy on the ears but it would be great if we got more of an evolution of Parks’ sound in future projects.

[email protected]

@arlo_marler