We celebrate the debut albums by Celeste and Arlo Parks. Meanwhile, the selection on this volume (8!) is truly wonderful, again showcasing the depth and breadth of talent across the neo soul, R&B, chill hop and soul-tinged electronic pop scenes. We cover some ground, with Jamilah Barry, Cosha, Greentea Peng, NAYANA IZ, a masterclass in modern R&B from Jazmine Sullivan and hazar!, the return of SZA. How thrilled we are. And dry January is done - so bring out the rum.
Slowdown, what’s the rush?
We’re celebrating. Seems incongruous with the times I know, but there it is. What’s happened is this: two of our favourite artists have dropped debut albums, both of them long in the making. It’s Celeste and Arlo Parks, and I was so excited I really didn’t know which to play first.
We first came across both artists a while ago - feels like a lifetime ago to be honest, what with this pesky virus hanging around and morphing into new strains and whatnot. It was Celeste’s Father’s Son that first stopped me in my tracks (featured on D&S vol. II) back in 2019 and had me first in the queue to see her show at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival in May that year - the last time out for that superb festival. Oh my, what has happened to live music?
Celeste’s slow-build was something of a model example of modern marketing for an up & coming artist. A steady trickle of singles, some EPs, plenty of radio support. Some key industry badges of honor including the ‘Sound of 2020’ and ‘BRITS Rising Star’ and ‘Best Thing Since Sliced Bread Until Toast’ award (oh my, the music industry is a hell of a treadmill). She even won the industry’s top accolade: THE DARK & STORMY AWARD - for best alt. R&B, neo-soul, urban pop track (Father’s Son). Oh, and she landed the John Lewis xmas advert - the ‘sync’ slot that has the music industry’s sales execs formulating pitches before John Lewis’ purchasing managers have ordered this year’s range of baubles and tinsel (usually April). Meanwhile her Instagram is impeccably maintained. She’ll be the first port of call for the Broccoli family next (possibly to record the new theme tune to No Time To Die when the Billie Eilish one has officially expired, for release in 2043).
Celeste’s career was smacked in the face by COVID however, just like many artists due for a ‘big year in 2020’. Celeste told The Guardian “Everything was in suspense...by the time we go back out to play shows there won’t be anyone interested”. Her team also received a warning not to be complacent, when Celeste’s ‘big single’ release Little Runaway was not the runaway success they intended.
Celeste my love - you have nothing whatsoever to worry about. Suspense is good. Missteps are fine. The waterfall of new music flowing through streaming platforms may evaporate by tomorrow for the most part, but that just makes the exceptions ever more special to music, culture and lifestyle - all those things Celeste’s music represents so gracefully. The movement she emerged from - the new school of British jazz - may not be around forever, but Celeste seems to have already drifted somewhere much more lofty and timeless.
So, now it’s finally here, how is the debut LP Not Your Muse (now that is a great title!). Well, it’s far too long, which may be the symptom of how long it’s taken to arrive, but that’s no excuse. It doesn’t really matter what we think about it in the end. Not Your Muse is not a classic album. It’s a debut and it’s there, and that is what’s important. Father’s Son stands out as the most compelling thing on the record and time will judge that this remains the best direction for Celeste as she develops. Let’s hope that development goes well (i.e. not necessarily to plan) and that there are plenty of classic and varied albums to come.
For quality over quantity, Arlo Parks’ debut is a more successful vessel. Slimmed down at 11 songs (including the five previous singles), Collapsed In Sunbeams isn’t better than Not Your Muse but it is better managed. Like Celeste, Parks has not put a foot wrong, even if her career-build has been slightly more modest. It feels like, at 20, Parks is even more self-assured and certainly less enamoured by the music industry’s incessant ‘baby shower’.
Their different experiences certainly surface in their debut works. Where Celeste’s album seems squarely aimed at the masses (too soon we say!), Parks makes more of a personal, individual statement. When Celeste’s record relies on brushed drums and tastefully building arrangements, Parks uses a signature sound built on simple, minimal looped beats and lilting riffs.
Perhaps that’s the difference between a major label jamboree and a much more humble indie affair (Celeste is on Polydor whereas Parks is released through Transgressive). Managing expectations - of others and yourself - is more important to young up & coming artists than it has ever been. As I read in a Steve Wilson interview recently, where he says: “the definition of an artist is someone who pleases themselves, not their fans”. The latter being ‘entertainer’ rather than artist. It seems that Celeste will need to correct her course more towards the art she wants to make rather than that which others would like her to make. Such is the tightrope walk made by artists signed to big labels with big expectations.
Here’s the thing then: both Celeste and Arlo Park’s debut albums are important landmarks in the careers of two of the UK’s most talented new artists. Both seem built to last, and so there is less to judge here and more to look forward to. After all, what’s the rush?
