Picture a serene Tuesday night where the lighting is dark but the mood is vibrant and Arlo Parks takes the stage. The same lovely, gentle and humble Arlo that gave us hits like “Hope,” “Caroline,” “Hurt” on Collapsed in Sunbeams and “Blades” on My Soft Machine returned to perform her new album Ambiguous Desire at The Granada Theater in Dallas.
Still mellow and poetic, though this new iteration has some synth and dance club energy. In fact, she and her bandmates performed a head to head mix-off at one point – increasing the speed and letting the synth beats climb to the final apogee. Rather than staying with only chill vibes and slow bedroom rock (which could become too easy and formulaic), Arlo challenges the dynamic to a light electro-pop atmosphere. She sways and jumps with intention while she sings truthfully and empathetically to all of us.
Arlo’s soft spoken, healing lyrics remain her trademark, and we really feel her words. Between songs, she apologizes to a fan for not playing “George” because it wasn’t ready for the tour. This was a shouted request from the crowd (so obviously no obligation) but she is sincere when she wishes them well and also tells us she hopes no one is hurting.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the show was after the encore, she omits playing “Hope,” one of her most successful songs to date. Although I am a big fan of that song, I have the utmost respect for an artist who is genuine. As demonstrated with the “George” exchange, Arlo never wants to disappoint her fans, but also does not compromise herself in the process. Whilst other stars perform in sparkly corsets, she chooses to wear what makes her comfortable and genuinely herself, and honestly? So refreshing.
Arlo is not only brave and outspoken about her sexual identity and mental health struggles, but she makes us all feel at home in this room. The whole experience feels like a collective, therapeutic deep breath. She whispers that “it won’t hurt so much forever” and we gratefully accept this relief. Her songs release us from the tension of our pre-midweek worries and more.
You have to root for her.
