:: Enya - And Winter Came

Enya

The front cover and title immediately gives way the theme and general aura of the release. This is a Christmas album and Christmas album cant be a Christmas album without Christian themes. With the Christian theme also comes the symbol of the colour white traditionally representing innocence and goodness, feelings Enya wants to evoke. The album instills sentiments and visions sub-consciously as I found myself dreaming of a white Christmas with hallowing female voices (It seems it was Enya’s) echoing the chilled air of somewhere in Ireland. An album that can do that is one worth savouring if not just listening to. This is Enya’s first full-length Christmas album (she previously recorded 4 Christmas tracks for Amarantine). It’s been twenty years since her debut Watermark album, she’s sold over 70 million volumes worldwide and continues to do so with her seventh studio release. The album begins with coinciding ethereal sounds resonating pastures green, white and ice anew. It’s a text that introduces the album’s drawn out remnants that inevitably fulfill this potential, nothing is left void. Enya is turning pop more and more with each album. It is now rare to note any Gaelic influenced sounds but it seems hardcore Enya fans don’t mind as her voice is still perfectly audible. The album ends with a nice version of the Christian Chorale, an Irish version of Silent Night.