Two years after its release, Clairo‘s “Bags” remains a potent mining of inscrutable attraction and confusion, all beautifully sung by someone who’s ready to be vulnerable but also terrified at that very prospect. It’s also firmly sad in the indie-rock way, pulling from some emo hallmarks. That’s what makes Arlo Parks‘s new take on the tune so invigorating — over a steady and calm backbeat, the British singer-songwriter unspools the song’s drama in a completely stripped-down, late-night, turntable-spinning way. As on her new single “Hope,” and across her impressive debut LP Collapsed in Sunbeams, Parks lets her voice lead, even as it’s swaddled in piano accompaniment. The result is almost meditative, something to soundtrack your own pondering. —Patrick Hosken
