Whisper to the Wild Water

Whisper to the Wild Water is a sweet sonic journey of liquid swirling arrangements and the frothy mellifluous wash of Máire Brennan's looping vocals. Here the singer for her family band, Clannad (and elder sister to the better-known Enya), ventures farther astream from her previous solo efforts to incorporate more flutes, pipes, and Celtic traditional touches amid her penchant for spiritual themes and the light world rhythms of drum loops. Ever mindful of familial strength, Brennan collaborated on the writing of this collection with her husband, duets with her mother on one cut, and features her 5-year-old son intoning the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi in Gaelic. Singing in both English and the tongue of her native County Donegal, Brennan creates a work that, while not overtly Christian, is gently uplifting and attuned to the healing properties of song. Like a cradle rocked by the sea's lulling tide, Whisper to the Wild Water soothes, pacifies, and guides the listener to a delicious place of well being. --Paige La Grone