My Soft Machine Book Review

 It’s no secret that I like Arlo Parks’ music, so when I heard that she was putting out a book I was very excited to read it. Then, this weekend, I found the book in a Rough Trade in Nottingham and last night I finally sat down and read it. And it was great! 

The book is essentially a collection of photos by Arlo’s friend Daniyel, lyrics from her latest album ‘My Soft Machine’ and poetry. This is a really cool way of structuring it as the multimedia aspect definitely contributes to the softness which, as Arlo says in the foreword, is the main thing she wants readers to take away from the poems and lyrics as well. In the same foreword, she talks a lot about the differences between writing songs and poetry which is something I personally can relate to as well. If you’re a creative who’s tried your hand at writing poetry I’d definitely recommend this one. 

The poems themselves are gorgeous, all shorter than a page and clearly echoing the specific and yet somehow broader writing style of Arlo’s lyrics. For me, it’s the kind of collection that I will want to look back over several times to really dissect the stories behind the words, but I also feel that way about Arlo’s music, I have to listen to it several times to really feel the depth of the meaning. And this, I think, is a really important feature of Arlo’s writing, she manages to imbue mundane experiences with so much meaning, romanticising the everyday especially with her imagery surrounding colour. 

All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for an accessible poetry book which makes sense of the world while also featuring some evocative photographs and the expertly crafted lyrics of ‘My Soft Machine’. Go buy it, it’s a good one.