After two both musically and instrumentally complete and complex albums suc… Read Full Bio ↴After two both musically and instrumentally complete and complex albums such as “No podemos ser amigos” (2002) and “The Last Laugh” (2004), Irene Tremblay, otherwise known as Aroah, is back with a six song (five in English, one in Spanish) mini-CD. The new record could well be defined as the echo of that last spell, an epilogue to “The Last Laugh”. It’s a simple, flowing, acoustic-inspired record that suggests comparisons to Hope Sandoval or early Nina Nastasia. Erie arrangements and roomy instrumentation are provided by producer Raül Fernández – Élena, Refree…-, who also co-authors three of the record’s songs.

Unintentionally, her least ambitious project and most laid back recording experience have resulted in a compendium of poetry and… ¿orchestrated folk-pop? In which –Irene claims – the largest influence has been “silence”. In fact, during the months that preceded the recording she never listened to music or bought records – there was already too much noise going on in her head. She spent most of October and November of 2004 sleeping. She mostly had nightmares such as the one that inspired “A dream”. The only recording she did listen to was Elliot Smith’s posthumous record; it depressed her so that she hid it away and still hasn’t found it.

The lyrics are portraits of real experiences. Of course, the courtyard is a pretty obvious metaphor, but it’s also a place where photographs for the CD’s artwork were taken: the garden of the house where “The Last Laugh” was completed. “Into the courtyard” – the song- speaks of another temporary home where Irene lived for months out of a suitcase, accumulating books, pictures, bottle corks, papers, sad memories and very occasionally a triumphant moment. Ever since she set aside the idea of an entirely Spanish EP that would bear the title “Objetos Perdidos” (an expression she translates loosely as Lost & Found) she has been obsessed with the idea of with the necessity/lack of necessity of such material possessions.

After years of concerts and tribulations, two full-length recordings, two EPs and various tours in different circumstances – more or less rock-like, with assorted line-ups- Aroah introduces us to her best song-writing to date. The single cover on the record, “Caroline Says II”, owes more influence to Nico’s “Chelsea Girls” or Lisa Germano than to Lou Reed’s original recording. On the five new songs Irene seems to be waving goodbye to all her possible influences – Joni Mitchell, Vashti Bunyan…-. This is what happens to the best of artists when, after a long time searching for something they didn’t want to find, they find something they weren’t actually looking for: a code, a unique poetic language of symbols that continuously change while pronouncing every word and playing every note as if they were the last.

Fade
Aroah Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You look tired and sad, prettier than you ever have.
You look fine, fine, fine
You look fine, fine, fine

Seems to me that you were painted that way
In nasty pinks and pale, pale grays.
You were born to fade
And you do it with such grace.

I took you to the white waves
I pull you to the black earth
You look the same
You were born to fade.
And you do it with such grace

I took you to the white waves
I pull you to the black earth
You look the same

You look fine, fine, fine
You look fine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Aroah's song Fade present a complex portrait of a woman who is both tired and sad, yet still undeniably beautiful. The first verse speaks to the singer's recognition of the woman's beauty: "You look tired and sad, prettier than you ever have. You look fine, fine, fine." Despite her apparent weariness, the woman still manages to maintain her physical attractiveness, perhaps even enhancing it in some way.

The second verse delves deeper into the idea of the woman's beauty as a constructed facade. She is "painted" in "nasty pinks and pale, pale grays," suggesting that her appearance is not entirely natural. Additionally, the singer notes that the woman was "born to fade," perhaps hinting at the ephemeral nature of physical beauty itself.

In the refrain, the singer describes taking the woman to two different places--the "white waves" and the "black earth." It's not entirely clear what these locations represent, but they may invoke images of purity and darkness respectively. Despite these differences, the woman looks the same in both places, reinforcing the idea that her beauty is something that goes beyond her surroundings and is an inherent part of her being.

Overall, the lyrics of Aroah's song Fade present a complex portrait of a woman whose beauty belies a deeper sense of sadness and impermanence. The singer recognizes her allure, but also recognizes that it is a constructed, fleeting thing that is ultimately destined to disappear.

Line by Line Meaning

You look tired and sad, prettier than you ever have.
You appear fatigued and unhappy, yet more attractive than ever before.

You look fine, fine, fine
You outwardly appear well and untroubled.

Seems to me that you were painted that way
It appears as though you were created to look this way.

In nasty pinks and pale, pale grays.
With unsavory shades of pink and gray.

You were born to fade
Your destiny is to gradually disappear.

And you do it with such grace.
You handle it elegantly and beautifully.

I took you to the white waves
I brought you to the waves that are white in color.

I pull you to the black earth
I draw you towards the earth that is black in color.

You look the same
You appear identical.

You were born to fade.
Once again emphasizing that it is your fate to slowly disappear.

And you do it with such grace.
Once again emphasizing that you handle your fading elegantly.