Arlo Parks has given us the second taste of her upcoming album My Soft Machine. On her latest single, “Impurities,” Parks celebrates her chosen community, who embraces her impurities and encourages her to do the same.
“Oh the look you threw, that was so intense that it was physical / You’re the rainbow in my soap, you notice beauty in more forms than most,” sings Parks in one of the song’s verses.
Upon the song’s release, Parks revealed that the song was inspired by the people who make her the happiest.
“This is a song about community… being around people who make you feel like your inner ugliness and failures and mistakes don’t matter, who lift you up and make you laugh, who make you feel good and clean,” Parks said in a statement.
In the song’s accompanying visual, directed by Jak Payne, Parks is seen spending time with family and friends, basking in joyous, blissful moments.
“With this visualizer I really wanted to convey this atmospheric oscillation between solitude and companionship — I wanted to show how being around your people really does feel like coming home,” Parks said. “When I was writing this song I had been thinking about Gus Van Sant a lot and how he captures people in all their fragility and beauty and ugliness — Jak was instrumental in creating/protecting that sense of softness.”
Check out “Impurities” above.
My Soft Machine is out 5/26 via Transgressive Records. Pre-save it here.
