Album Review

The Innocence Mission holds a special place in my house. They are one of the few bands that my wife and I BOTH genuinely love. And being that we are a young family with 2 children, Now The Day Is Over is THE perfect soundtrack to our life. We must've played this album nothing short of 100 times in the last year and a half. Karen Paris is so unbelievably delicate and childlike in this recording.

Aside from ambient post-rock, I find this album to be the most effective (and family friendly!) transport music, in the sense that I easily get lulled into the songs and swept away by them. It's hard for me to pick favorites on this recording, but the opening trilogy of "Stay Awake", "Over The Rainbow", and "What A Wonderful World" leave you wondering if there is any room for this album to get better. Of the 13 tracks, one of them, the pristine "My Love Goes With You" is original (written by Karen). The remaining 12 tracks are lullabies or simplely soft, beautiful songs, rearranged in a childlike manner. Despite the fact that Now The Day Is Over was written for Don and Karen's own children, this album is mostly played in our bedroom. If you're talking about 'cover albums', this one is a total classic.