Thursday, September 10, 2009

"Amarantine" by Enya

In trying to think of a good Celtic album to critique, I next decided to do Enya's "Amarantine." I've been listening to it and mulling over it, so I think I know how this will go. The following is only my opinion, so no one leap all over me for this, please. Got that? Good. Now on to the review.

" Less than a Pearl"- this opening to the album is sung in Enya and Roma Ryan's imaginary language Loxian (which is pretty much a mixture of five or more languages with no real structure). Despite the oddness of this language, it doesn't sound too much different from her vocalizations/ mouth music that she's done in earlier songs like "The Celts" or "The Longships." It's a pretty song, but the synthesizer and percussion could have been toned down a bit.

" Amarantine"- I'd rank this song as being up there with The Corrs' "Irresistable." It's not well-written, but it's catchy... until you listen to it about five times and then realize how much you dislike it. Not one of Enya's best romantic songs.

" It's in the Rain"- after the happy tone of "Amarantine," we move more to a sad pop sound. The synthezier makes background sounds like rain (though it doesn't sound as good as when it did on "Silver Rain" from another album). The song is meant to be sad, but it doesn't come across to me that way, not like "Evacuee" or even "Only Time" are.

" If I Could Be Where You Are"- this song is malancholy, but it is not the same tone seen in Enya's earlier works (i.e. her pre- "Memory of Trees" albums). There is minimal layering in this song, which works fine for the tone, but her voice is a bit louder than it usually is in her sadder pieces like "Evacuee" and "Exile."

" The River Sings"- and Loxian returns to the forefront again. One professional review compared this song to "Ebudae," but I completely disagree with him. This song uses a lot of layering, heavy percussion, and other artifical sounds, and thus in the end, while the language sounds cool and the song like something out of a sci-fi movie like "Dune," it is just one disorganized mess that on occasion almost drowns out Enya's voice for the sake of sounding electronic.

" Long Long Journey"- this is one of my favorite songs. It is in the vein of "On My Home" in regards to lyrical content, except it is sadder, as if it will be a long way home (makes me wonder if there is hidden meaning underneath regarding her seemingly horrendous break with her family but only if that story is true). The layering and electronic sounds don't drown out her voice and work perfectly together. I think, in my opinion, it is one of the better songs on this album.

" Sumiregusa"- Enya, having sung only in Loxian and English so far on the album, switches gears to sing in Japanese. There are a few parts, which I can't describe here for a lack of words, almost sound, well, odd... as if she's trying to make an imitation of Japanese music, but it comes across as an echo and sounds a bit out-of-place and not really like Enya.

" Someone Said Goodbye"- Roma must have been having a bad day or something like that because the lyrics here are just horrible and completely lacking the charm and beauty of her earlier works. The electronics are loud and almost drown Enya's voice here. It's not that bad of a song, but the lyrics pretty much ruined it for me.

" A Moment Lost"- the theme of this album, if there is one, is "love, the good parts and the bad parts." The song is not one of my favorites, but thankfully it relies more on the voice and not the synthesizer.

" Drifting"- the only instrumental of the album. Instead of a lovely piece on her acoustic piano, this relies on the sythesizer. It is not as well-done as pieces like "Shepherd Moons" and "Watermark." To an extent, the tune reminds me of "Inama Nushif," the beautiful Enya-esque piece from the "Children of Dune" soundtrack.

" Amid the Falling Snow"- another one of my favorites and one that a personally think is one of the best ones on the album. I think it could have been better if the percussion was softer and not as predominant, letting us focus on her voice completely, as a few times it comes close to drowning her out. But, that being said, I still enjoy this song a lot.

" Water Shows the Hidden Heart"- the album ends as it began: being sung in Loxian. After the mess of "The River Sings," this one is much more subdued and more organized. The tone reminds me of "Smaointe." I think it is one of the best songs on the album, not covering up her voice but focusing on that aspect of her talent.

I've noticed, listening back to Enya's earlier works up to present day, her works have declined in quality and beauty. I think this is largely due to the overuse of the synthesizer and bringing it to the forefront instead of letting it do its quiet yet nonetheless powerful work in the background. In the past, Enya's soft voice was in the front but had a quiet power; here, the music is too loud, lacking its original beauty. I think also, maybe, the quality of the lyrics are declining, and it is especially evident on this album. This album seems to have polarized Enya's fans on its quality, but it's not too horrible, though it's not one of her best ones. I think she should return to her "acoustic" roots seen on her early albums and stay there. Or, else, hire a new producer and lyricist and an actual band instead of one instrument doing everything.

I give the album two stars out of five.

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