The Black Opal

Lisa Gerrard’s 2009 album The Black Opal has an overwhelming feeling of intensity, as the strangely beautiful, unnerving cover art suggests. Seemingly lighter pieces like the piano-led “The Messenger” have shadows while her initial vocals on “In Search of Lost Innocence” are utterly haunting. At the same time the album features some of her most formal lyrical songs, including the steady “Tell It From The Mountain” and the serene and subtly moving “The Serpent and the Dove,” plus a moody trip-hop interpretation of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.”