Enya — A Day Without Rain

Enya is back with her first new studio album in five years. The reason "A Day Without Rain" took so long is mainly because she plays all the instruments and does all the singing herself, without the help of samples. But is 34 minutes of the same music all over again enough to compensate the wait?

Enya has been the figure head for Celtic inspired new age music for years, and the Irish singer was the first who brought this kind of music to the mainstream public with her debut album "Watermark". The former Clannad singer’s first single "Orinoco Flow" was an instant hit and the album "Watermark" became a multi-million selling album. It was the sign for other artists to incorporate Celtic influences in their music, still Enya remained at the top. "Shepherd Moons" (1991) and "The Memory Of Trees" (1995) both won a Grammy and sold again millions. Her last album however, "Paint The Sky With Stars" (1997) raised suspect already that Enya’s inspiration had dried out. Only two new tracks were featured, the other 14 songs were previously released on other albums. Still the "best of" compilation sold very good, and I doubt it that the new release will disappoint considering sales figures. But the most important part is of course the music…

After the beautiful title track and the poppy "Wild Child", the first single unfolds, called "Only Time". The track combines all the typical Enya elements but could easily be featured on one of her earlier albums. The following "Tempus Vernum" is the darkest track on the album; the chants in Latin language is not new but well executed. One of my personal favourites I should add. The song "Deora Ar Mo Chroi" is sung in Gaelic, one of the Celtic languages and is beautiful, but not surprising. After that, "A Day Without Rain" continues in the well known Enya style but without further outstanding songs. It's all very beautiful but also very uninspired. Lyrical wise Enya continues on the same foot as well: romantic, mystical with an almost pastoral edge. Considering the production nothing has changed either. Nicky Ryan has done a great job again, perfectly finding harmony between Enya ethereal vocals and the orchestral instruments.

All I can say is that I find Enya's new album quite disappointing but I wouldn't go as far to call "A Day Without Rain" bad. It's in exactly the same vein as her earlier albums, and those are still very beautiful but far more effective. But why change a winning concept? Enya always had success with this kind of music, and I expect this album to be good enough for multiple platinum LPs again. The 34 minutes of the same music all over again are not enough to compensate the wait for me, tough.