What to listen to this weekend
ALBUM OF THE WEEK Arlo Parks: ‘My Soft Machine’
Arlo Parks was only 21 when she won the U.K.’s Mercury Prize for her 2021 debut “Collapsed in Sun Beams.” Inspired by James Baldwin’s novels and a kaleidoscope of musical influences, the album offered a glimpse inside the mind of a young person grappling with loneliness, depression and queer love.
Parks’ sophomore effort, “My Soft Machine,” touches on similar themes but engages with them in a new way. A little older, a little more mature, the English singer sounds confident, even hopeful — like someone who understands that heartbreak can make you stronger.
“I radiate like a star,” she sings on “Impurities,” an unhurried synthpop song punctuated by cheeky record scratches. “When you embrace all my impurities / I feel clean again.” Elsewhere, she dabbles in guitar-driven pop-punk (“Devotion”), disco-funk (“Blades”) and dream-pop (“Weightless”). Not even guest vocalist Phoebe Bridgers, queen of the sad indie girls, can bring Parks down on the lovestruck “Pegasus.”
“This record is life through my lens, through my body — the mid-20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time,” Parks said. “My Soft Machine” shows that vulnerability has the power to both affirm and uplift.
ALSO RECOMMENDED Rich Aucoin: ‘Lyra’
In 2011, the Halifax musician released “We’re Dying to Live,” an electro-pop record that he recorded while running half-marathons across the country, recruiting hundreds of musicians in every city to contribute to the project. Several years later, he cycled from L.A. to New York, recording voice memos that eventually became his 2020 studio album, “United States.”
Now, Aucoin is midway through his “Synthetic” tetralogy, four instrumental electronic albums he recorded using dozens of rare synthesizers during a residency at the National Music Centre in Calgary. “Synthetic Season 2” is a high-octane space odyssey, one made for both dancing and fist-pumping.
On “Lyra,” Aucoin layers an eerie synth line over a driving hip-hop beat and a healthy dose of subbass. “Whatever music I’m making, I feel like I’m just a visitor of someone else’s scene,” Aucoin told me.
Beyoncé (feat. Kendrick Lamar): ‘America Has A Problem’
“America Has A Problem” was already one of the best tracks on “Renaissance”: that breakneck beat, the emphatic way Beyoncé says “no” on the chorus. But on this remix, a fired-up Kendrick provides an extra shot of adrenalin. It also showcases Beyoncé’s talent as a rapper: “Tony Montana with the racks / Ivy P on my bag, double G’s on my dash,” she raps with supreme swagger. Even next to one of the best in the world, she steals the show.
Symphony Orchestra: ‘Intersection’
Performing as Symphony Orchestra, Max Turnbull and Michael Rault have discovered a kind of disco-prog equilibrium, characterized by funky drums, tight guitar solos and plenty of detours into synthdrenched psychedelia. On their debut album, “Radiant Music,” the duo shows off their distinct musical sensibilities for a pairing that works like pizza and Lambrusco.