Austin City Limits

-Austin City Limits presents alternative pop with Japanese Breakfast.

- How's it feel to stand at the height of your powers To captivate every heart?

Projecting your visions to strangers Who feel it, who listen to linger on every word -And from the UK, Arlo Parks.

- I think you know it Too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true I think you know it, too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true -Recorded live from the Moody Theater, it's "Austin City Limits."

-Now music that celebrates life and love from Japanese Breakfast.

- Lucidity came slowly I awoke from dreams of untying a great knot It unraveled like a braid into what seemed were thousands Of separate strands of fishing line Attached to coarse behavior, it flowed A calm it urged, what else is here?

How's it feel to be at the center of magic To linger in tones and words?

I opened the floodgates and found No water, no current, no river, no rush How's it feel to stand at the height of your powers To captivate every heart?

Projecting your visions to strangers Who feel it, who listen to linger on every word Oh, it's a rush Oh, it's a rush But alone, it feels like dying All alone, I feel so much I want my offering to woo, to calm, to clear, to solve But the only offering that comes It calls, it screams, there's nothing here How's it feel to be at the center of magic To linger in tones and words?

I opened the floodgates and found No water, no current, no river, no rush How's it feel to stand at the height of your powers To captivate every heart?

Projecting your visions to strangers Who feel it, who listen to linger on every word Oh, it's a rush Oh, what a rush [ Cheers and applause ] Tell the men I'm coming Tell them count the days I can feel the night passing by Like a mistake waiting for me Caught up in my feelings Overthink the truth Fantasize you've left me behind Now I'm turned back running for you Make it up to me, you know it's better Make it up to me, you know it's better Be sweet to me, baby I wanna believe in you, I wanna believe - Be sweet - Be sweet to me, baby I wanna believe in you, I wanna believe in something So come and get your woman - Come and get your woman - Pacify her rage - Pacify her rage - Take the time to undo your lies Make it up once more with feeling Recognize your mistakes And I'll let you back in Realize not too late Loved you always Make it up to me, you know it's better Make it up to me, you know it's better Be sweet to me, baby I wanna believe in you, I wanna believe - Be sweet - Be sweet to me, baby I wanna believe in you, I wanna believe in something Be sweet to me, baby I wanna believe in you, I wanna believe - Be sweet - Be sweet to me, baby I wanna believe in you, I wanna believe in something [ Cheers and applause ] We're Japanese Breakfast.

We're from Philadelphia.

[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you so much for being here.

[ Cheers and applause ] If I could throw my arms around you For just another day Maybe it'd feel like the first time Now that you're away I'll just spend my life not knowing How it'd feel to These days, I can't shake the awful feeling I'm missing something I can't place Is that you?

Manifesting like the fear of an oven left on God, I felt so much back then I was soft as a dune If ever you come back Wherever you find your way to And though it may not last Just know that I'll be here longing [ Guitar solo ] I'll wait, passing time just popping wheelies And kicking round this flyover state Watching you show off to the world The parts I fell so hard for God, I wish we could go back there Left alone in my room I know they deserve you, too And maybe I'm not that worthy If ever you come back Wherever you find your way to And though it may not last Just know that I'll be here longing If ever you come back Wherever you find your way to And though it may not last Just know that I'll be here always [ Guitar solo ] [ Cheers and applause ] I want to be your man I want to be your savage good boy I want to take care of you When everybody's gone Want you to be the one that I come home to The one that's up waiting I want to make the money till there's no more to be made And we will be so wealthy, I'm absolved from questioning That all my bad behavior was just a necessary strain They're the stakes in the race to win I've got a five-year plan I've got a pension and six condos A billion-dollar bunker for two And when the city's underwater I will wine and dine you in the hollows On a surplus of freeze-dried food I want to make the money till there's no more to be made And as the last ones standing, we'll be tasked to repopulate And as you rear our children, know it's the necessary strain They're the stakes in a race to live [ Guitar solo ] [ Cheers and applause ] I want to be good I want to navigate this hate in my heart Somewhere better I want to feel it But with the feel, there is an ache I meet To desire living Don't mind me while I'm tackling this void Slide tackling my mind This weight feels like I'm wrestling with my head Obsessing in the dark [ Saxophone solo ] [ Cheers and applause ] So be good to me, be good to me You and me have always had a good time And what else is left, babe?

So be good to me, be good to me The day's not a wash until you Say Don't mind me while I'm tackling this void Slide tackling my mind Long nights where I'm I'm wrestling with my head Obsessing in the dark [ Saxophone solo ] [ Cheers and applause ] Obsessing in the dark, obsessing in the dark [ Cheers and applause ] Woke from a dream in which you'd left me Posing for cars on the American stoop Don't make me beg you just 'cause you can I'm just a woman with loneliness I'm just a woman with needs And how could you ever conceive How much I need you, how truly barren I can be?

They say that time, it is the only certainty But it's been one o'clock for hours Oh, the day is long, untangling Can't sort release from what I sold you Is this what it takes to enjoy the day?

All of my pleasures left on display I'm just a hollow root pushing through I'm just the empty space inside the room And how could you ever conceive This adolescent heart skipping beats?

When all your love, it grows full and firm beneath Without a festered thought, without an emerald want Just a single slow desire Fermenting [ Cheers and applause ] [ Guitar solo ] [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you so much.

Have a great night.

[ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] -I've always been a very sensitive person, for better or for worse.

And I think I'm so moved by ordinary life and mundane things and human interaction that I just, um, have this desperate need to call attention to things that maybe most people might take for granted or not find particularly extraordinary.

And I think after writing two albums about grief and loss and then a whole book about that experience, I finally felt like I had said everything I needed to say about that creatively, and I was ready to move on.

And I felt like the most surprising theme for someone whose narrative is so associated with grief would be to write an album about joy.

And I think part of me really wanted to will that into being for myself.

But it's such a broad topic, too.

You know, the album is very much about struggling to feel joy or removing yourself from a situation that inhibits joy, giving yourself permission to feel joy, the joy of music.

So, it felt like a really wonderful theme to throw myself into.

-Next, blending poetry with music, Arlo Parks.

- I was waiting for the bus one day Watched a fight between an artsy couple escalate Strawberry cheeks flushed with defeated rage Then he spilled his coffee as he frantically explained Maybe if you took a breath You would hear me when I talk to you Threw her necklace in his face Eyes so bright with disappointment Saw something inside her break Everybody knows the feeling You ready?

Suddenly he started screaming "Caroline, I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried Caroline, I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried, I swear to God I tried" Ripped the hem of her skirt as she ran Panicking and weaving through the crowds on Oxford Street Watched his world dissolve in his hands Tried to roll a blem then put his head between his knees - Ooh - Maybe if she took a breath She would know I did it all for her Agony and hints of sage Her eyes blind with disappointment Couldn't recognize her face Shards of glass live in this feeling Have to somehow stop her leaving "Caroline, I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried Caroline, I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried Caroline, I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried Caroline, I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried, I swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried, swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried, swear to God I tried I swear to God I tried, swear to God I tried" [ Cheers and applause ] [ Chuckles ] Thank you.

This is such a treat.

I'm Arlo Parks.

I'm from London.

I'm 21 years old.

And it's a pleasure to be here today.

[ Laughs ] [ Cheers and applause ] But, yeah, thank you so much for being here.

It's a pleasure.

And we're gonna play some more songs, have some fun.

Let's do it.

[ Cheers and applause ] I had a dream we kissed and it was all amethyst The underpart of your eyes was violet You hung a cigarette between your purple lips We've been best buds since thirteen I hold your head back when you're too lean I hold the Taco Bell and you cry over Eugene He was mean He was mean But hey I know I've been a little bit off and that's my mistake I kind of fell half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been mates since day Yeah, I don't know what to say Hey I know I've been a little bit off and that's my mistake I kind of fell half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been mates since day Yeah, I don't know what to say Seein' you with him burns, I feel it deep in my throat You put your hands in his shirt You play him records I showed You read him Sylvia Plath I thought that that was our thing You know I like you like that I hate that son of a We've been best buds since thirteen But that don't change the things I feel Oh, when I see you smile with your teeth at Eugene Yeah, I can't deal But hey I know I've been a little bit off and that's my mistake I kind of fell half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been mates since day Yeah, I don't know what to say Hey I know I've been a little bit off and that's my mistake I kind of fell half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been mates since day Yeah, I don't know what to say [ Guitar solo ] [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] This song is called "Black Dog."

-Whoo!

-Whoo!

- I'd lick the grief right off your lips You do your eyes like Robert Smith Sometimes it seems like you won't survive this And honestly it's terrifying Let's go to the corner store and buy some fruit I would do anything to get you out your room Just take your medicine and eat some food I would do anything to get you out your room It's so cruel What your mind can Do for no reason I'd take a jump off the fire escape To make the black dog go away Alice, I know that you are trying But that's what makes it terrifying Let's go to the corner store and buy some fruit I would do anything to get you out your room Just take your medicine and eat some food I would do anything to get you out your room It's so cruel What your mind can Do for no reason It's so cruel What your mind can Do for no reason [ Cheers and applause ] Mm, mm Mm, mm, mm Charlie drank it till his eyes burned Then forgot to eat his lunch Pain was built into his body Heart so soft it hurt to beat Oh, wouldn't it be lovely to feel something for once?

Yeah, wouldn't it be lovely to feel worth something, huh?

Mm, mm I know you can't let go of anything at the moment Just know it won't hurt so, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much Charlie melts into his mattress Watching "Twin Peaks" on his ones Then his fingers find the bottle When he starts to miss his mum Mm, mm Wouldn't it be lovely to feel something for once?

Yeah, wouldn't it be lovely to feel worth something, huh?

Mm, mm I know you can't let go of anything at the moment Just know it won't hurt so, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much Charlie started seeing stars, so stuck on the new Jai Paul Said, "My clothes are sticking to me And I can't quite see my walls" Started dreaming of a house With red carnations by the windows Where he didn't feel so small So overwhelmed by all his flaws I know you can't let go of anything at the moment Just know it won't hurt so, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much I know you can't let go of anything at the moment Just know it won't hurt so, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much Won't hurt so much I know you can't let go of anything at the moment Just know it won't hurt so, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much, won't hurt so much forever Won't hurt so much Won't hurt so much [ Cheers and applause ] This next song is a song called "Too Good," dedicated to all rubbish exes and the fact that they're out of our lives now.

I said it, and I won't take it back.

- Why'd we make the simplest things so hard?

- I brought you breakfast, then you stared at your rings The air was fragrant and thick with our silence I held my breath as something deep inside pinched I touched the bump on your wrist you were born with Watching you tryna push away It hurts when you see it coming You're too proud to tell me that you care Watching you tryna push away It hurts when you see it coming Never use your words to show you care I think you know it, too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true I think you know it, too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true Why'd we make the simplest things so hard?

I let my pain out through the way that I sit And start to pick at the rips in my Nikes You quote Thom Yorke and lean in for a quick kiss But still you just won't admit that you like me Watching you lower both your eyes It hurts when you know it's over Still too stubborn to show that you care Watching you lower both your eyes It hurts when you know it's over I feel like you never really cared I think you know it, too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true I think you know it, too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true I think you know it, too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true I think you know it, too cool to show it Babe, you're so good, you're too good to be true Why'd we make the simplest things so hard?

- Oh-oh-oh - Sunspots in your eyes, dark green You still mean the world to me Why'd we make the simplest things so hard?

Oh-oh-oh [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] I guess my favorite songs that I've written have come kind of pouring out of me almost by accident.

And I had, like, one afternoon at the studio, unplanned, and this is what came out of it.

So here we go.

"Softly."

[ Cheers and applause ] I'm dazzled hard, we're in Berlin And when you leave, just break it down to me softly Through veils of rain, I'm shattering I dip into the love we had with ease Lemon and ginger beer, soap suds on navels If I upset you, could you maybe say so?

Has something changed, have I just missed the memo?

Tell me what I don't know - Oh, won't you - Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else - The pressure thuds behind my eyes You look at me as if it's my fault that we're stood here The cobalt of your scarf has pulled clear Stealing me traffic cones, smiling at babies I must admit I wanted you to save me Now I'm sat on the ground, feeling half crazy I don't want you to go - Oh, won't you - Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else - Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else - Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else - Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else, oh, won't you - Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you.

[ Cheers and applause ] I guess I'd found that music had really helped me and had kind of made me better understand myself and I guess applied words to feelings that I felt were so knotted and complicated, I couldn't even describe them.

So I found that music is that kind of balm, that healing force for me, and I wanted to do that for other people.

A lot of the people around me and especially growing up did struggle, and I see a lot of people around me struggle now.

And I think that when you talk about something, then shame kind of loses its grip.

And I'm, again, just writing about what I see around me and now that I have a little bit of a voice or platform, just trying to use that for good.

I'm doing a lot of writing and a lot of playing shows.

That's kind of what my focus is at the moment.

It feels like it's been so long since I've been kind of out in the world, so I'm basking in that, having my first-ever festival season, but writing.

Right now, I'm in my writing, absorbing, sponge mode and just, I'm in my little -- in the lab, cooking, and seeing what happens.

- I don't want no one else - Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else - Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else - Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else, oh, won't you - Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Break it to me softly, I don't want no one else Break it to me, break it to me, break it to me Oh, I forget myself - I don't want no one else