Arlo Parks has shared news of her second album ‘My Soft Machine’ and unveiled its first single ‘Weightless’ – listen below.
The Mercury Music Prize-winner previously teased that something would be announced today (January 18). She has now confirmed that ‘My Soft Machine’ will arrive on May 26 via Transgressive Records. Pre-order the album here.
‘Weightless’, the album’s first single, premiered last night (January 18) as Clara Amfo’s ‘Hottest Record’ on BBC Radio 1 alongside an interview. Watch the cinematic and striking Marc Oller-directed video for the track below.
Speaking of the single, Parks said: “Weightless surrounds the painful experience of caring deeply about someone who only gives you tiny breadcrumbs of affection. It’s about suddenly realising that a person has dulled your edges and embarking on the slow journey back to being a brighter version of yourself.”
In addition to news about the album, Parks has announced a run of headline tour dates across the UK and Europe for September, which includes a show at London’s Eventim Apollo. See full dates below and access the pre-sale here.
SEPTEMBER
5 – Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre
14 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
15 – Brussels, Ancienne Belgique
17 – Berlin, Huxley’s Neue Welt
19 – Milan, Alcatraz
21 – Paris, L’Olympia
28 – London, Eventim Apollo
‘My Soft Machine’ has been described as a “deeply personal body of work” which highlights Parks experiences of navigating life in her 20s. “The world/our view of it is peppered by the biggest things we experience – our traumas, upbringing, vulnerabilities almost like visual snow,” she said in a statement about the album.
“This record is life through my lens, through my body – the mid 20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self sabotage and joy, moving through worlds with wonder and sensitivity – what it’s like to be trapped in this particular body.”
In other news, Parks is set to perform at this year’s Primavera Sound Festival for both the Barcelona and Madrid editions. She has also been booked to headline this year’s The Great Escape festival.
this feels like the biggest secret I’ve ever had to hold in but I can finally announce that my sophomore album “My Soft Machine” will be released on 26th May 2023!! pic.twitter.com/OqGNhBSJCd
— Arlo Parks (@arloparks) January 18, 2023
Parks released her first new music for 2022, ‘Softly‘, in February. The single also marked her first release since her Mercury Prize-winning debut album, ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’, landed in 2020.
NME gave that record a five-star review, with Georgia Evans writing: “Arlo Parks may be the voice of Gen Z, but there’s no doubt that this is a universal collection of stories that’ll provide solace for listeners of all ages and backgrounds for decades to come.”
Last year, the singer cancelled a number of US tour dates to protect her mental health. “I am broken,” she said in a statement. Parks began a run of shows in the States at the start of September 2022 but said that her mental health had “deteriorated to a debilitating place” and left her “burnt out”.
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