A stunning debut emerged from the darkness of lockdown to win the London newcomer chart success and a well-deserved Mercury prize
As the beginning of 2021 marked almost a full year of the pandemic, lockdowns and social distancing, many of us were experiencing some sort of impact on our mental health. So when Arlo Parks released her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, in January, she found herself chiming with universal concerns. Addressing issues that had been triggered or exacerbated by Covid stresses and lives stuck inside four walls, be they unrequited desire, sexuality issues, poor body image, prejudice, betrayal or depression, Parks emerged as an empathic, comforting voice.
Articulating listeners’ anxieties has always been central to pop but few have managed it in such an authentic, genuine and timely way. Almost half a century after David Bowie threw a lifeline to a confused generation with Rock’n’Roll Suicide’s “Oh no love, you’re not alone”, Parks offered a concerned hand to the Covid-19 cohort with her song Hope: “We all have scars / I know it’s hard / You’re not alone like you think you are.”
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3DI8zqh
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