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Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Arts Correspondent
@jeremydwilliams
8:42 AM 25th November 2015
arts

Enya - Dark Sky Island

 
Enya is one of the most successful recording artists of all time. With over 80 million record sales under her belt, her distinctive compositions have been capturing hearts the world over since her 1986 eponymous debut. Seven years have passed since her last studio record, 2008's And Winter Came..., and Enya is finally ready to unveil her eighth studio record, Dark Sky Island. With her dedicated fan base ready to reap the worlds of submitting themselves to the new realm Enya has crafted, will they find at as enchanting as the seven other realms she has previously enticed us with?

The simplest answer is yes. Enya is one of a very select breed of artist who can completely entice their listener away from the humdrum of everyday life into a blissful state of mind in a world totally of their own creation. Dark Sky Island is every little bit as magical as Shepherd Moons or A Day Without Rain, and while it feels like a continuation of her style, as with each of its predecessors, it is an island alone in place and time.

Although there are echoes of her earlier creations, the haunting vocal staccato of Echoes In The Rain is bound to get compared to Orinoco Flow, it is a body of work that is moving and uplifting for its very own reasons. A cleverly textured album, Dark Sky Island feels at one with the world and spreads a harmony in what is currently a very divided terrain.

The raw emotion displayed in the ballads I Could Never Say Goodbye and So I Could Find My Way have a finality about them that is simply heartbreaking. The classical meets synths dream of Sancta Maria shows how the old and new can work together in harmony.

Overall Dark Sky Island is a rare gem. An album that on first listen is simply sublimely peaceful and soothing, but on closer inspection finds calm in even the most treacherous of terrains. Dark Sky Island is a place many of us wish we could escape to in a time when the world could use a little more harmony.