The ethereal duo take yet another strange trip into the neoclassical darkwave sound that they helped pioneer. Aion is more vocally forward than previous efforts: Lisa Gerrard's mournful contralto is the centrepiece of minimal, medieval-style hymns ("The Song of the Sibyl," "The Promised Womb") and a bagpipe-driven Irish ballad that suggests her family roots ("As the Bell Rings the Maypole Spins"), while Brendan Perry plays the gothic folk troubadour on ominous epic "Black Sun." Only Dead Can Dance can make a breakup album sound this otherworldly.