Arlo Parks “Ambiguous Desire” Album Review
BY KATHERINE CHUNGArlo Parks, best known for winning the Mercury Prize in the UK , has made a bold comeback with her third album, Ambiguous Desire. Diverting from her indie-pop days, Parks has created a masterpiece. From the very first pulse of the opening track, the album sets the mood, drifting effortlessly from emotional intimate moments on the dance floor to spirals of overthinking amongst the flashing lights.
“Blue Disco,” begins with an intense slow beat drop. Then it quickly dives into the most melancholy lyrics about queer euphoria. Parks goes on to describe the feeling of finding an intimate connection of finding the one at the tip of the night, even though they might not see them. The repetition of the lyrics: I would find you. / I’d find you / I’d find you represent how the invisible relationship feels strong.
Like a dance party, the album diverts moods. Going straight from I would find you to Yeah, I don’t wanna let go. “Get go,” focuses that feeling of melancholy while dancing to a poppy upbeat song at the club. It is a feeling that all of us may want to feel at one point in life even though we know it may not end in the best circumstances once the night ends.
In “South Seconds,” the voicemails framing the song reveal two partners wanting different things, shaped by their pasts. It suggests Parks finds more comfort in the nightclub than in real-time love, where vulnerability feels more exhausting than longing for someone who is not there.
Ambiguous Desire is made for those who long to feel deeply human, to be messy, to overthink, and to lose themselves at night over DJs and dance music. It is repetitive in the best way, like an overthinker caught in a loop, until they find that the only cure is the release of the dance floor, where every spiraling thought finally finds somewhere to be.
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