The Greatest Album You've Never Heard: Paula Toledo - Stay Awhile
I realized I never use this site, but it just dawned on me. I could write some of my yap into decent little blog posts about stuff I like. One thing I'm extremely into is music. Like Choptop in TCM2, music is my life, and thus, I spend a lot of time listening and thinking about it. One album I discovered a little over 2 years ago has been stuck in my mind ever since I first listened to it. That album is Paula Toledo's 2006 album, Stay Awhile.
That name might sound familiar to you if you kept with the internet scene dedicated to Lostwave, a community dedicated to finding songs with no artist or name attached to them. Paula was one such artist with her song "How Long" being one of the community most wanted songs ever since it first appeared on a Russian bootleg DVD. Eventually, it was found on a Canadian music copyright database, and in turn, this album was also found on Spotify. When the news first broke to me, I decided to give the album a listen, I simply cried from its beauty. I'm going to go track by track and simply explain everything i get from them, and I'll conclude with why i love this album so much.
1. Pride
The album begins straight away with a bang. The song follows the thoughts of a woman who regrets falling in love with a man and blames herself for continuous falling for his advances over her.
"Your clever tongue has made its way,"
"Did I just let you in?" You're convincing,"
"but you still, left me wincing"
"All these smiles that you made shine"
"Wеre backlit to undermine"
Personally, I just think this song just sounds incredible with its strong vocals and guitar lead. The drums also had so much to the punch of the song. The meaning is kinda shallow if I'm honest but I don't mind since the song itself is excellent
2. Joan
Slowing things down a bit with this. Joan is a sweet, beautiful ballad about consoling someone with anxiety about the world around them and throuh the song, telling them that none of this matters and that them deep down as a person is wonderful.
"Joan, are you still in your room?"
"Joan, did the walls cave in and crush you, so you couldn't move?"
"Are you silenced by the static going on in your head?"
"I'd love you to stay wide-eyed"
"You're the last of the great, genuine kind"
"I'd love you to stay wide-eyed"
"With petals falling from your hair"
"You're so pretty when you're wild"
This song has made me cry multiple times. It's motivating and almost sounds like a ray of light that's comforting you telling you everything is going to be ok. As someone who constantly questions what it means to live and struggles with anxiety, this song is like medicine to help cure all my overwhelming thoughts. It's one of my favorites for a reason.
3. Break It Down
Ramping right back with a heavy emotional strong point. This song is about a woman who sees the struggles in her partner who is distant of their past due to a bad relationship they had in the past and in her own way helps him recover and love again. The song starts out pretty light, all things considered, but starting at the 3:10 begins a strong guitar solo that fade out to a break down with the repeating words "All I wanna say, is a love you", Instruments build up until they explode to a wall of noise that express so much raw emotion.
This song is truly something incredible, a song, so god damn good, I can't believe more haven't heard it. If you don't listen to anything, please listen to this at the bare minimum.
4. If You Leave Me Now In a Hurry
Another slower point and It's honestly not amazing. It's a song about coping with a breakup and still expressing they love them and it's nice and sweet in it's own way but it's definitely far from the album's best. I still like it though
5. Passport
This song almost feels like a sequel to LYMNIAH, It's about a couple who's stuck in Paris for one night and they spend that night rekindling their love for each other. It's a fine song, I think it's definitely weak but It's inoffensive to where it doesn't damper the album.
6. Empty Pockets
This one constantly slips my mind and yeah it's definitely pretty forgettable but It's a nice little song about a couple struggling to stay together in moment but realizing they can still have a future if they stick together. No complaints it's just a simple song.
7. Tell Me a Lie
From a rather weak 3 track one, here comes the best 3 track run. Starting off with this song, I actually can't tell what this one is about. Reading the lyrics my best interpretation is that it's about remembering a blossoming romance that they wish kept going, wishing they would've lied to her about their feeling so that she could stay in love. Meaning ain't much but the song is a fucking banger. Great rhythm with some banging drums yet again. Not my favorite from this track run but it's still wonderful.
8. Stay Awhile
This is it. This is the one. This is the albums big moment. The title track follows a romance that has completely died out which leads her to wonder how she can revive it by staying around longer. The section that takes the cake as the album's star moment starts at the 2:21 mark, where all the emotions and thoughts that were built up from the verses come to ahead leading to the echoing sentiment of "What happened to us" followed by the best guitar solo on the album that feels like the sweetest release ever. This song is truly a jawdropping spectial in every way, Without a doubt the best song on the album and a MUST listen for anyone. Seriously it's that good, please please please listen to it.
9. Fly Away
This song is like the aftermath of the explosion on the title song and the way i read it, It's a song that is therapy for the woman in the title tack, essentially telling her she should free her and see the brighter side of the breakup. It's not particularly complex as a song but it's so beautifully composed it's like ear heaven.
10. Left to Stain
The song i forget the most and probably the worst song on the album, It's kinda dull and doesn't do a whole lot to be interesting. I think it's so easily forgettable it doesn't prevent this album being perfect in my eyes.
11. Atmosphere
A rather somber closer, The way i interpret this one is someone who sees a worrying future for them and their partner but at the same knows it will be ok and they don't mind. It's not a track I think about often but it does a great job of wrapping this incredible album to close.
In conclusion, I feel this album is severely underrated, and for good reason, the entire world forgot this album. What the world forgot was an album with an incredible heart and passion that sounds utterly spectacular from every angle, an album truly like no other, and that's why I love it so much. It's not every day you feel an album touch you on an emotional core, but Stay Awhile does for me, and for that reason, it means a lot to me, It's something I'll cherish forever. Perhaps I'm looking too deeply into a Canadian pop album from the mid-2000s, but i feel I'm giving this album what it always deserved and never got in its heyday, A genuine appreciation and love for it. I highly implore anyone who has read this far to give it a listen, you might feel the same way I do or maybe not.
This has been Izzy, signing off.
