Review Summary: A Day Without Lyrics
Clouds is a compilation of piano instrumentals collected from throughout Enya's discography. It was originally released as the second disc of the
Box of Dreams box set in 1997, but was made available as a single digital release in 2020.
Enya is known for her distinct multi-layered vocals (Shepherd Moons has around 500 vocal tracks individually recorded and layered!), as well as for singing in ten (that's right, 10!) different languages during her career—so what's the attraction of her piano instrumentals, you may ask? Well, they're effing gorgeous is what. The tunes on
Clouds still include Enya's vocal textures and dynamic backing tracks, but with her piano work as the overall focus.
Without an intelligible human voice running through, the tracks here are able to become further detached from this world, and sometimes reach climaxes that feel like a portal to another world. It is extra testament to the strength of these compositions that they thrive without Enya's lyrics, which some scoff at for being overly spiritual but nonetheless provide crucial emotional context for the feelings that a particular track invokes.
With the music isolated in this way, the seemingly contradictory balance of upbeat and mellow that Enya's music contains can be heard in HD. Yes, this is New Age-adjacent and on its face is intended to relax the listener, but at the same time, many of Enya's keystrokes and strings feel so
triumphant that I swear sometimes I can see a marching band going off in some cloudy realm somewhere...
Whether or not you're looking to escape this plane of existence,
Clouds is a worthy addition to the rotation of those who dabble in Ambient or New Age music. It's a fascinating peek into the gorgeous sonic world of Enya, offering equal parts relaxation and inspiration. I hope you'll drift with me and show Enya some love.
