Collapsed in Sunbeams (2021)

Collapsed in Sunbeams is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks, released via Transgressive Records on 29 January 2021. The album received widespread acclaim, with many music critics praising Parks' versatility and vulnerability. The record was supported by seven singles including "Black Dog" and "Hurt". The album won the 2021 Mercury Prize, and was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background and recording

Prior to the release of Collapsed in Sunbeams, Parks had recorded and independently released two extended plays, namely Super Sad Generation (2019) and Sophie (2019), since her solo debut in 2018 with the song "Cola". In early October 2020, Parks revealed via social media that she had finished recording "the album". She had prior told NME in July 2020 that she had been "doing a lot of writing" and thinking about exactly what she wanted to express in her "first big cohesive statement of intent".

Parks told NME in October 2020 that the album is "a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding [her] adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia – I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific." Speaking to Billboard, she said that while recording during the COVID-19 pandemic she was "mining these deep-rooted, sometimes traumatic places [at a time] when the world was crumbling around [her]."

Parks and Los Angeles-based songwriter and record producer Gianluca Buccellati co-wrote every song on the record, with the latter producing all its music. They both work in various Airbnb apartments as they have "neutral energy" and "blank spaces where [the duo] can forge their own creative bubble." The track "Green Eyes" features uncredited work from American singer-songwriter Clairo who provides both guitar and background vocals.

Release and promotion

Singles

On 11 February 2020, the first single from the album, "Eugene", was released alongside an accompanying music video directed by hip-hop artist Loyle Carner. The album's second single, "Black Dog", was released on 4 May 2020 with an accompanying music video and became the most successful single from the album. It made the A List on BBC Radio 1 and reached number 65 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart in July 2020. It also received critical acclaim, with NME calling it both "the year’s most devastating song" and the fourth best song of 2020 overall. The third single from the album, "Hurt", was released on 18 August 2020, with an accompanying music video being released a day later. The fourth single, "Green Eyes" was released alongside the album's announcement on 20 October 2020. "Caroline" was released as the album's fifth single on 24 November 2020, with an accompanying video being released on 15 December 2020. The song gained traction in Japan number 20 on Billboard Japan's Hot Overseas chart. It was also later serviced to A List on BBC Radio 1 on 21 January 2021. On the same day, Parks presented a preview of the album on a livestream hosted by Rough Trade and broadcast exclusively on the Dice official website. "Hope" was released alongside and accompanying music video as the album's sixth single on 27 January 2021. Parks later engaged in a listening party hosted by Raina Douris on NPR on the day of the album's release.