German-Brazilian musician and visual artist Gloria de Oliveira returns with ‘Fading Faces’, the lead single from the upcoming album The Lying Swans, arriving 30 October via La Double Vie. As a fellow Brazilian with the same last name, I may be a little biased, but de Oliveira immediately caught my attention. Produced by Randall Dunn, the track introduces a darker, more vulnerable side of de Oliveira’s songwriting, blending ethereal synths, thunderous drums, glam-rock guitars, and her haunting soprano into something that feels both seductive and unsettling.
‘Fading Faces’ immediately gives off a Lana Del Rey-like quality, with the same sultry, cinematic feeling found in artists like Mazzy Star, Chelsea Wolfe, and Zola Jesus. There is something almost otherworldly about the track, especially alongside de Oliveira’s self-directed visuals, which bring to mind a gothic romance unfolding beside the sea. The combination of the ocean imagery, dark cliffs, and her siren-like vocals makes the whole song feel like stepping into a dream you’re not entirely sure you should trust.
But underneath the beauty is a song about letting go.
“I’ve been calling
From far away
But the one I’m calling
Doesn’t carry your name”
There is something heartbreaking about realizing that the person you once saw everywhere is slowly disappearing from your memory. ‘Fading Faces’ feels like holding onto that final connection just a little longer, knowing that eventually you have to release it.
“I numb my hurt
And my heart is open
For you, one, one
One last time”
That idea of “one last time” feels like the emotional center of the song. It is the willingness to give someone one final chance, to open your heart despite everything that has happened, before finally accepting that the relationship belongs in the past.
There is also something almost hypnotic about the way de Oliveira sings of oceans, waves, and being carried away. The imagery makes the process of letting go feel less like a clean goodbye and more like being pulled out to sea, slowly surrendering to something you can no longer control. By the time she sings, “Now I can see through the reeds of deceit / To awaken,” there is a sense of finally seeing the relationship clearly after being lost inside it.
For some reason, ‘Fading Faces’ reminds me of Mitski’s ‘Washing Machine Heart’, not because the songs sound the same, but because both capture that strange space between wanting someone and knowing that holding onto them may hurt more than letting them go.
‘Fading Faces’ is haunting, sultry, and beautifully melancholic, turning heartbreak into something almost magical. Gloria de Oliveira’s The Lying Swans arrives 30 October via La Double Vie.
‘Fading Faces’ is out now on all streaming platforms.
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