Arlo Parks takes on the storm and wins at Reading 2023

Words: Finlay Holden.Photos: Frances Beach.

Lyrically detailed, sonically sharpened and critically appraised, Arlo Parks’ Mercury prize-winning debut established her as an artist not to be underestimated. May’s follow-up took her artistry in a new direction entirely, leaning into hazy, colourful, assuring sounds as she seeks to be less self-critical and more generous with what she calls ‘My Soft Machine’.

That same sentiment seeps into the crowd even as the rains pour hesitantly over the fields of Reading. Arms sway, groups huddle together, and the storm is banished by the catharsis of ‘Oh Caroline’. Contrasting this with the indie-rock musings of ‘Devotion’, Arlo expresses a passion for Deftones and Arctic Monkeys - there’s a range of influences in her palette, but she offers something entirely of her own creation.