As Arlo Parks readies a return to North America, riding shotgun on Clairo’s upcoming tour, her gradual rise has poised her to be placed amongst the skyscrapers. And now, it’s only fitting that the tallest of buildings dance alongside her.
Parks dropped a new visual this week for her delectable indie-pop jam “Softly,” and the Zhang and Knight visual is a cool and captivating watch saturated in warmth and hazy nostalgia. The English artist crashes back to our shores later this month for an extended run opening for Clairo, and the tour hits Boston’s House of Blues for a pair of shows February 27 and 28.
Surely, “Softly” will be a high-point of the appearances, ironically arriving towards the beginning of each night — a contrast from the track’s swirling notion of how things end.
“‘Softly’ is a song about yearning, about how fragile you feel in the dying days of a relationship when you’re still desperately in love,” Parks says. “The song is about how it feels to brace yourself before the blow of a break up and reminisce about the days where it all felt luminous.”
As “Softly” glides along with its lounge-act ease, the video places Parks in a bit of a throwback manner. Zhang and Knight explain: “For us ‘Softly’ explored the idea of wanting something that was once perfect to end in a gentle way, and we wanted to express this using the world surrounding Arlo. We were instinctively drawn to the warm toned, hazy nostalgia of the 1960s, as we loved the idea of something universally romantic being slowly stripped away throughout the film.”
They add: “We based the colors of the bricks, trims and doors on mid-century painting in order to bake this romanticism into everything. The production itself was a huge challenge, as everything was captured in-camera with each piece of the set built on wheels operated by several production crew. However, we knew it was all worth it when we saw the skyscrapers dancing around Arlo for the first time.”
Hit the clip after the tour date jump.
Arlo Parks 2022 North American tour (with Clairo*):
February 16: Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte*
February 17: Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium*
February 19: Washington, DC @ The Fillmore Silver Spring*
February 20: Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore*
February 21: Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa*
February 22: Richmond, VA @ The National*
February 24: New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall*
February 26: Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia*
February 27: Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston*
February 28: Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston*
March 2: Pittseburgh, PA @ Roxian Theater*
March 3: Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live!*
March 5 Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room*
March 7: Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom*
March 8: Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit*
March 10: Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre*
March 11: Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre*
March 17: Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore*
March 18: Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore Minneapolis*
March 20: Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium*
March 23: Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre*
March 25: Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall*
March 28: Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues*
March 30: San Francisco, CA @ Nob Hill Masonic*
March 31: Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater*
April 2: Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre*
April 5: Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre*
April 7: Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom*
April 9: Austin, TX @ ACL*
April 10: Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center*
April 15 to 17 and April 22 to 24: Indio, CA @ Coachella