Dom's Review of Amarantine

Amarantine has all the hallmarks of a typical Enya masterpiece. Even the track order isn’t a random selection; thought has been put into the actual track order. It alternates between the slower pieces, mid-tempo and fast pieces. Creating a variety to the listener, be they serious fans or casual listeners, it is a track order that reminds us of Watermark, Enya’s masterpiece that she unleashed upon the world in 1988.

Three tracks are sung in a fictional language, devised by Roma Ryan, Enya’s lyricist, based partly on the sounds Enya would vocalize while she worked on a melody. Roma’s contribution shows through the use of symbols for the Loxian alphabet and groundwork for a proper grammar. The three Loxian tracks are Less than a Pearl, The River Sings, and Water Shows the Hidden Heart. This time the languages used are more esoteric and exotic than ever.

This time Enya’s multi-vocals are still evident, especially in the background harmonies that enrich the chorus, intros and outros. What is new is that her main vocals are much clearer and stronger, compared to previous releases, where layering and multi-tracking had to a certain extent distorted the crispness of the lead vocals. In Amarantine, fans hear both the clear lead vocal and multi-layered signature harmonies. If ever there are albums that you can tell from first listen, based on 30-second samples, that they are good albums, that stand to repeated listen, Amarantine, joins their ranks.

Less than a Pearl: An opening track typical of Enya style, instrumental and vocals. Usually as a personal preference I take time to like a particular opening track. But Less than A Pearl has the pulling power of The Memory of Trees, that propels me to pay attention at the first chord. After the burst of ‘high-haah’ sighs at the chorus, I am convinced that it is a good track, it is more subtle than the majestic The Memory of Trees but no less in terms of melody.

Amarantine: A style that is redolent of Only Time, it is Enya, working on a hooky pop song with universal lyrics. The melody may draw many at first listen like myself, and for others it may take a little longer. Although it reminds me of Only Time, the high chorus owes more to a church choral hymn than a pop song. As a song, I like it much more than Only Time which took me awhile to really like.

It’s in the Rain: If one listens to the instrumentation and vocal arrangement, it’s like China Roses meets Wild Child. It has the steady pace of China Roses but the chorus infuses it with the elation and emphasis of Wild Child. The track ends on a sober note. This piece is best appreciated late at night or during quiet moments to yourself, where you are able to pick out the instrumentation besides Enya’s main vocals.

Lyrically I’d have preferred something other than ‘rain’ with ‘again’ as its rhyme choice. I have come across criticisms of its lyrics, but Roma is making sense in ‘leaves on trees whispering, deep blue sea’s mysteries.’ It isn’t teenage poetry as some will suggest. If you think of it this way, when rain hits the trees, the droplets tell the leaves its origins from the deep blue sea. Rain takes its droplets from everywhere and the most common source is a large body of water, such as the sea.

Hear my name, in the rain’, isn’t that strange. How many of us have heard our names on a stormy night as the winds howled through shutters? Can the rhythm of rain not call our names? It isn’t that far-fetched. It is best listened and taken with a sense of wonderment, then the song really talks to one’s soul. ‘Of the sky as it cries’, it’s obvious as an allegory of rain.

If I Could Be Where You Are: This track can easily be traced and relate it to On Your Shore, Na Laetha Geal M’oigé, Smaointe, and such. Melancholy and tuneful, it is moving. Composition-wise, it is far more engaging than the other mentioned Enya tracks from previous albums. I can hear those delicate synthesized strings which were evident in Pilgrim and May It Be.

The River Sings: Easily the dynamic cousin of the laid-back instrumental River from Watermark, The River Sings is a masterfully executed fast-paced Enya track. Melodically, with its painstaking multi-tracked harmonies and counter harmonies weaving in and out of the main melody (wait till the last few stanzas for a real harmony surprise), it wins the listener over. Dynamically, it spares no effort with its complementary percussion and sound effects. It is indeed more emphatic in its percussion and short syllables in Loxian, compared to the Latin Cursum Perficio. It easily passes off as a 21st Century track meant for the dance hall, with its pounding resemblance to techno and fast-paced chanting, but its artfulness are many notches above plain electronica or techno. This catchy tune will have listeners put this song on repeat quite a fair bit. It harks back to the relentless percussion work in Storms in Africa, Book Of Days, and Ebudae. Lyrically, if one read the English equivalent of the fictional Loxian language, it is typical Roma Ryan style. Questions, sometimes repeated phrases, the themes of distance, space and eternity.

Long Long Journey: I was smitten at first listen, just like the previous track. Radio friendly length, catchy hook, a pop track with the flavor of a hymn, it wins even a casual listener over. If ever there is a complaint that I have, it will be the small-vocalized bit between stanzas. They should have been infused with lyrics or lyrical sighs. The snare drums and its soaring chorus lend it an epic-like feel. The little vocalization at the end, is just perfect!

Sumiregusa (Wild Violet): Originally made as a commissioned song for Japan’s Panasonic Corporation, first previewed as a streaming audio track at the Official Enya Website, the previewed version was much shorter, just a teaser. This full-length version captures the hidden main course, that delights. I am particularly intrigued by the echoes at the bridge before the elongated sighs and the final stanza. Although based on the techniques first employed in La Sonadora and later in Isobella, Sumiregusa stands on its own with its own personality.

Someone Said Goodbye: The start hints at a melancholy song, but it changes tack swiftly enough. Delivered with a slap-happy pace of One By One, Someone Said Goodbye can easily be One By One, Part 2, in terms of theme and synthesized strings. Once again, if there ever is any complaint, it’s the vocalized portion that can do with a little extra lyrics. Hooky chorus, it’s a pop track with the Enya signature sound and delivery.

A Moment Lost: It has the hymn influence of Once You Had Gold, with the poignancy of Fallen Embers. If there’s ever sweetness in melancholy, then A Moment Lost is it. Arguably the best non-typical radio hit material on the album, it holds up to repeated listen, with its achingly beautiful melody and heartfelt rendition. Anyone who has ever said a word in anger to another or anyone who has lost/hurt or been hurt by someone you care about will be able to relate to it.

Drifting: The spirit drifts in a dreamlike trance. Appreciated according to the track order, Drifting is a good break between the intensity of A Moment Lost and the wistfulness of Amid the Falling Snow. It may not receive the appreciation that it should, partly because the overall brilliance of the other tracks outshines it. On its own it is a decent enough Enya instrumental, far more superior than the repetitive The Promise.

Amid the Falling Snow: It captures a private wistful moment of recollection. In the snow and moonlight glow, thoughts return to winters past. It can easily pass off as a Christmas song, melody wise and lyrically. Those watching the fireplace in the cold of winter and those watching the falling snow from their rooms on a moon swept winter night , can easily relate to this piece.

Water Shows the Hidden Heart: An epic story delivered in fictional Loxian language, in the style of a choral hymn. This is just the type of instrumental and voices track that Enya must have envisioned making from the earliest days of her career. It’s complexity rivals The Memory of Trees, while the melodic harmonies achieved here make Enya’s early pieces of the same genre, although beautiful, elementary compared to this feast of sounds. Listening to this piece lifts the spirit. The album ends on a high note.

For the casual listener if you are not a fan, this album is recommended. If you are already an Enya fan, there is every reason to buy this album.

As a fan I considered The Memory of Trees as a superb album, despite the release of Paint the Sky With Stars. When A Day Without Rain was released, in my heart’s judgement, I consider it equal to The Memory of Trees. With Amarantine, Enya has outdone herself, at a time when people were wondering if Enya could top the exquisiteness of her own composition, May It Be.

©Dom