Music

Arlo Parks Announces Her New Era with ‘Ambiguous Desire’ and Shares Dreamy New Single ‘2SIDED’

4 February

Arlo Parks is stepping into her next era — and it’s late-night, dancefloor-lit, and driven by desire.

This January, the critically acclaimed, twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning artist announced her new album Ambiguous Desire, set for release on April 3rd via Transgressive Records. Alongside the announcement, Parks shared the project’s first single, ‘2SIDED’, offering fans an intimate first look into the emotional world of her upcoming record.

If Collapsed in Sunbeams felt like golden-hour introspection and My Soft Machine traced vulnerability with surgical honesty, Ambiguous Desire finds Arlo Parks moving through darker rooms — physically and emotionally with confidence, curiosity, and freedom.

Over the past two years, Parks immersed herself in nocturnal spaces where self-expression was limitless. Drawing inspiration from the queer hedonism of New York’s Paradise Garage, the gritty British sounds of The Streets and Burial, the euphoric release of LCD Soundsystem, and the deep-rooted grooves of Theo Parrish, she found herself losing and discovering herself on the dancefloor.

The result is her most experimental body of work yet. Swapping traditional live-band setups for modular synths, Ambiguous Desire channels the quick energy of the spaces she inhabited, while still holding onto the poetic lyricism that has made her one of the most compelling writers of her generation.

Reflecting on the album, Parks describes desire as both a driving force and a mystery:

“Desire is a life force… it’s a wanting, a yearning, a momentum. But it is also tangled, random, enlightening and human.”

That tension sits at the heart of Ambiguous Desire — the pull between freedom and vulnerability, euphoria and uncertainty.

The album’s lead single, ‘2SIDED’, premiered as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record and perfectly sets the tone. Built on thick, humming synths and skittering drum machines, the track captures the fragile thrill of wanting someone and wondering if they feel it too. It’s tender, nervous, and quietly intoxicating, a moment suspended between hope and hesitation.

Speaking on the track, Parks explains:

“‘2SIDED’ is about yearning and tension. It’s about being struck by a bolt of desire and finding the courage to put language to it.”

The accompanying music video, directed by Molly Burdett, translates that emotion into movement.

Ambiguous Desire was crafted alongside producer Baird (Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract), with sessions unfolding between New York’s nightlife and long, introspective days in Baird’s downtown loft. The outcome is Parks’ most vulnerable, self-affirming, and euphoric work to date, a record that dances as much as it reflects.

Since bursting onto the scene, Arlo Parks has steadily built a career rooted in emotional honesty and cultural impact. From winning the Mercury Prize for her debut album to contributing as a featured writer on Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter, to performing at Glastonbury, Coachella and NPR Tiny Desk, appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and opening for Billie Eilish and Harry Styles, thereby captivating audiences across the world with her headline tour. Arlo continues to move fluidly between worlds — music, poetry, and global pop culture. Her debut poetry collection The Magic Border further cemented her voice as one that extends far beyond songwriting.

To celebrate the album’s release, Parks will perform a series of intimate UK record store shows throughout April, offering fans a rare chance to experience her music up close: