That of a soothing, but uplifting land, which feels as much yours as it does hers. And she carries it too through all 11 tracks she brings a beauty and passion to her work that is rarely seen in modern music.įrom the opener “The Memory Of Trees”, which begins with a quiet synth and builds into an ever widening landscape of instruments, Enya creates a mood that remains unbroken throughout. There’s not a bad song on here, every single one of them is superbly crafted, produced to perfection so it’s almost impossible to tell its all just Enya. With its layered vocals (Enya does all the vocals herself), light synth lines, and gorgeous orchestral compositions. Not because it’s boring, but because it’s soothingly beautiful. When I was a small child my mother would put this album on to get me to go to sleep. The easiest way to describe this album is by stating a fact. Be still and let it wash over you.Review Summary: This is the kind of album you put children to sleep with, that doesn’t make it bad, its just what it is. It's a salve for the musical soul, a shower of frequency.
The entire album is an antidote to broism, the polar opposite of hypergrunge or whatever is the flavour of the day. It's a slow stomper that could easily sit alongside Mercury Rev, or the most hopeful of Godspeed's Lift Yr Skinny Fists.
Still, for me, the standout track is 'Even In The Shadows'. Few can get away with a chorus of hallelujahs while avoiding the overt religious overtones, or sounding too saccharine – like the soundtrack to a slideshow of landscape photos. The lead single, 'Echoes In Rain', for example, harkens back to her Watermark/Shepherd Moons era without sounding retromanaical. Dark Sky Island is Enya operating at her most maximal and self-aware. Nevertheless, it does feel like Enya's strongest effort in years, and that is not at the expense of previous records. There have been subtle nuances over the course of her oeuvre – some hits and some misses. Yet, that is not to say that it all sounds the same. And so, Enya's albums are akin to a conversation with an old friend: you just pick right up where you left off, as if no time had passed betwixt.Īs much as one might be compelled to call this new work a return to form, it wouldn't quite be accurate.
It's one part Celtic folk, one part classical romantic, and one part lucid dream. Since the mid-1980s, she and her two songwriting partners, Roma and Nicky Ryan, have been building a sort of sonic vernacular – a super-linguistic musical dialect. Thankfully, to that end, Enya has graced us with another chapter in her book of days – and not a moment too soon.įor anyone remotely acquainted with Enya (and really, who hasn't joyously sang "sail away sail away sail away!" at the top of their lungs?), Dark Sky Island will feel immediately familiar. And sometimes we require a swift reminding. For we live in a very, very beautiful world. I can imagine nothing superior to represent the beauty of being alive right now. Were it my solemn duty to compile a list of the finest things we human creatures have ever created – for a time capsule, say, or a diplomatic encounter with alien species – the songs of Enya would be paramount.
0 kommentar(er)
