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Madrid-based Spanish-American singer-songwriter Irene Tremblay is Aroah. For her fourth release (second full-length), recorded in the United States, she presents us with a disc of minor-key folky chamber-pop based around her excellent acoustic and Spanish guitar work. Backing musicians provide a variety of instrumentation (cello, flute, recorder, slide guitar), and occasionally there is a full band sound, but the accompaniment is understated for the most part. Tremblay's vocals (sung in American-accented English) are fairly light and unadorned and deceptively sweet considering the lyrical content.
Tremblay's lyrical outlook is quite sour, with themes like betrayal, isolation, doubt, and emotional disconnection. An undercurrent of bitterness and restrained anger pervades the entire disc, and Tremblay puts forth some bleak sentiments, such as "music is a question of taste / and having lots of time to waste" and "lust [is] stronger than love". Even the cat she is petting in the cover photo is at arm's length. The songs are buoyed somewhat by some sprightly instrumental work, including Tremblay's deft guitar and some excellent drumming on a few tracks. The songwriting is very good and the music is often quite lovely, and overall this disc is definitely on par with Acuarela's typically excellent quality, but the mood is so dour that unfortunately I don't think I'm going to want to revisit this album very much. Not to be overly glib with my summation, but this is what Mary Lou Lord might sound like if she had depression and, you know, some actual real talent. (mike.04.05)
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