Album Review: Enya - Dark Sky Island

So with the disappointment that was Satellite I thought I needed something that I actually like, so here is my review of the 2015 release by Irish singer Enya.

Dark Sky Island was released in November and so far has been appearing sporadically on album charts ranking the highest on the Hungarian Albums Chart at number 15 and going as low as number 99 on the Italian Albums Chart, it did however peak at number 6 on the Canadian Charts and number 8 on the Billboard 200, and as of now has only been certified gold in eight countries.

The album is a lot different than the last few albums I reviewed, for one thing this isn't rock, it's more new age Celtic music. Enya's singing voice is beautiful and it is perfectly showcased in the opening track. "The Humming" begins really softly and showcases the singers talents while also letting us know what kind of album this will be, the lyrics are pretty simple but considering the type of music this is, I don't think it really matters.

So far my favourite track off the album is the third track "Even in the Shadows" which has a different pace to other songs and has a piano that adds a really nice touch. Even with the pace change the song still sound very beautiful and so does the following track "The Forge of Angels" which is not in English but still has a very beautiful and even a little haunting with the vocals sounding very much like chanting.

"Echoes in Rain" is my second favourite song off the album and so far is the only song to be released as a single. It sounds much more optimistic or upbeat, and it makes the track stand out. Even though I do love this album, the titular track, as a lot of the tracks, don't really give me a lot to talk about, when my praise can be given to each song, you know you've made a great album, and the reverse is true as well.

If there was any song I am not a huge fan of it would have to be both "Sancta Maria" and the ending track "Diamonds on the Water". "Sancta Maria" has good instrumentals, but it is simply just the title of the song sang for the entirety of the song, and "Diamonds on the Water" Would have been an incredible track, but there is a sound that I found really distracting and I assume that it was supposed to sound like water droplets but again, they just sound distracting.

Now, the Deluxe Edition, which I have, has three bonus tracks, but I'm not judging the Deluxe Edition. So, overall the album is very calm and relaxing, the singing is very beautiful and there really isn't a bad song on the album, even what I considered the "Low Points" are only low points by the rest of the album's standards.

For it's beauty, relaxed tone and for the fact that no two songs actually sounding alike (Ahem P.O.D.) I have to give this album a 9/10, it isn't perfect but very few albums are.