Arlo Parks on her superpowered empathy: 'It's hard, but it's opened my heart'

The 20-year-old singer-songwriter is deeply affected by the feelings of others - and it has made her a raw and tender voice for Generation Z

Does anyone really want to be the voice of a generation? It's a question that 20-year-old Arlo Parks is grappling with. The singer, songwriter and poet has been called a cinematic storyteller", the euphonious voice" of Generation Z. I don't like that idea," she says. I'm just saying what I'm saying and I happen to be 20. Maybe people my age gravitate towards my songs because they can relate to them, but I'm definitely not speaking for anyone."

There is some credence to the claims, though: her 2019 debut EP was entitled Super Sad Generation. It contained the song Sophie, a blend of nu-jazz and indie pop, which lamented the rising mental health crisis among Generation Z with the lyric: I'm just a kid, I suffocate and slip, I hate that we're all sick." This year's tender, devastating singles Black Dog and Hurt continued the theme.