It’s the freaking weekend baby and you know what that means. Sadly, it means another weekend spent mostly at home due to the global pandemic that just hit its 87th month. While you figure out what items to put into your digital cart at Whole Foods, check out some of the great new releases out this week.
Arlo Parks Collapsed in Sunbeams
There has been a ton of buzz over the last two years in anticipation of the debut album from British songwriter Arlo Parks. After releasing two EPs, the 20-year-old offers the listener solace throughout the full-length Collapsed in Sunbeams, while gifting the world an album of songs that makes rainbows out of something painful.
On “Black Dog,” which is slang for depression, she sings about the troubles she experiences while trying to help a friend with their battle with depression. It is a song that is perfect for the pandemic as it reminds you that you are not alone no matter how lonely you may feel. “Green Eyes” is about a love Parks lost in part to her partner not being able to come to terms with their sexuality. “I wish that your parents had been kinder to you, they made you hate what you were out of habit, remember when they caught us makin’ out after school, your dad said he’d felt like he lost you” are lyrics that can resonate with millions of people around the world.
Arlo is a songwriter that a whole generation of people desperately need currently in their life. Her honest, vulnerable voice can touch a large population that feels unheard right now and she could not have come into their lives at a better time. @arloparks
Goat Girl On All Fours
If you have read New Music Friday with any regularity, you have noticed that I like to highlight British artists a lot. It is not done purposely, but I do tend to listen to more British pop than just about any other genre. The trend continues here with the latest from the London-based Goat Girl.
After the initial listen to On All Fours, it is clear that the band has made a natural evolution from their first album. They were seen as a political punk band following the release of their debut, but as Goat Girl sat down to begin writing the new album, the band’s guitarist and lead singer Ellie Rose Davis was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. Shortly after the news of Ellie’s diagnosis, the Covid-19 pandemic was dropped at their doorstep, putting the singer’s life in greater danger.
Goat Girl sang about creeps on the Tube and the unwavering eyes of strangers towards strong women and non-binary people on their self-titled debut, and while the songs on the new album do not reflect what Davis was going through during her chemotherapy, they rather tackle topics on a more global scale. The girls sing about mental health, climate change, and toxic male masculinity among other topics on On All Fours. It is really hard to pigeonhole the band into a single genre, as they sprint from sounding like Sonic Youth to Portishead to Tori Amos. Whatever you want to call Goat Girl, one thing is for sure and that is that Lottie Cream, L.E.D., Holly Hole, and Rosy Bones are fearless when it comes to evolving as a band and blazing their own path.
Check out some of the other great releases out this week:
- Weezer OK Human
- Steven Wilson The Future Bites
- Tasos Halkias Divine Reeds
- Ani DiFranco Revolutionary Love
Steven McCash is the Music Columnist for SoBros Network. He is the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music, in addition to the occasional live show review. Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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