Today, twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning Arlo Parks releases the digital deluxe edition of her critically acclaimed album Ambiguous Desire, out via Transgressive.

The deluxe edition features two brand new songs, alongside “New Desire” – the track that introduced Ambiguous Desire ahead of its original release – plus a rework with John Glacier and remixes from some of the most esteemed artists in their respective genres, including Jacques Greene, Nosaj Thing, Lil Silva and Oscar Farrell, expanding the world of Ambiguous Desire across 2-step, rap, house and a broad spectrum of electronic sounds.

 

 

Today’s focus track, “waiting for me,” is a sparse, softly sung meditation on healing and self-sabotage. In Arlo’s own words, “it’s a letter to myself and a reminder that I am deserving of peace.”

Speaking further about the additional new song on the deluxe edition, “Nobodysaint”, Arlo shares: “Nobodysaint is a surreal, deconstructed love song. I wanted it to feel like a song wafting in from a forgotten pirate radio station, familiar and alien at the same time.” Both new tracks are tender, intimate additions to the tracklisting, sure to resonate with Arlo’s longtime fans.

 

 

The release arrives as Arlo continues her global headline tour, having just wrapped the North American leg. She heads to Europe this month, where a super limited edition, hand-stamped 12” vinyl featuring the Jacques Greene and Oscar Farrell remixes will be available exclusively at her shows, while stocks last.

Released in April via Transgressive, Ambiguous Desire was created alongside producer Baird (Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract), with additional production from longtime collaborator Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence + The Machine, Rihanna), Buddy Ross (Frank Ocean, Vampire Weekend) and Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Dijon). The album has since been named one of Billboard and Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year So Far, following a wave of critical acclaim that saw Classic Pop dub it “her ultimate statement”, Rolling Stone UK praise it as her “most versatile work yet”, and Pitchfork describe it as Parks at her best. Uncut called the record “frequently wonderful”, while DIY hailed it as “her most vividly realised and affecting body of work to date.”

Parks has received overwhelming support, including performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, an appearance on Later… with Jools Holland and playlist additions across BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 1. She has also taken over studios at NTS Radio in London and KCRW in Los Angeles for her own shows, sharing a mix of club music and current favorites.

Sweating under the strobes at Midnight Lovers in LA, dancing to the bass beneath the K Bridge in Greenpoint, finding new faces at Venue MOT in London – these are the dark, enveloping spaces giving life to Ambiguous Desire.

Over the past two years, Arlo dove headfirst into nocturnal spaces where she could be whoever she wanted. She drew inspiration from the queer hedonism of NYC’s Paradise Garage to the moody nocturnal British beats of The Streets and Burial, the glittering synth catharsis of LCD Soundsystem, and rooted house grooves of Theo Parrish, losing herself on the dancefloor. The record is Parks at her most confident and experimental, supplanting live band sessions for modular synths, Ableton plugins and samplers that channel the frenetic, vibrant spaces she was immersed in, all while spotlighting the acclaimed poetry and lyricism she’s beloved for.

Bursting onto the scene with her distinct blend of raw lyrical self-expression and vivid vocal melody, Parks has since been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album, won the Mercury Music Prize for her 2021 Gold-certified debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams, been named a Breakthrough Artist at the Brit Awards, and been nominated at the Ivor Novello Awards. A poet as much as a performer, Parks followed up her previous critically acclaimed album My Soft Machine with the debut of her first published book, The Magic Border, a collection of 20 new poems and exclusive images by Daniyel Lowden alongside lyrics from My Soft Machine.

Arlo Parks is currently in the midst of a global headline tour, as well as having been announced as part of the opening line-up for the Apple Music Hall launch at their new music venue in London’s Battersea Power Station. Arlo joins a huge line-up of artists across the series, including Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, Elton John, Burna Boy, Chase & Status, Baby Keem, and Skye Newman. Her show will be live-streamed and later released in spatial audio.