Music Review: Various Artists - Dark Was The Night
More often than not, the compilation is an afterthought now. A group of people (usually a record label) pick a chic charity, gather a slap-dash bunch of artists willing to re-package their latest b-sides and voilà! A comp that not only sounds boring, but is.If you will, re-imagine this lackluster institution, with me, as something else entirely. Start with a truly worthwhile cause (AIDS awareness), take two musicians (the Dessner brothers from The National) rallying their friends around that cause to commit new and interesting material to the project, and there you have it: Dark Was The Night.
From the get-go, this compilation is anything but ordinary; David Byrne joins The Dirty Projectors for the harmonious "Knotty Pine". Disc one also features performances coupling the sibling curators with other independent celebrities for fresh performances - Bryce with Antony Hegarty and Aaron with Justin Vernon. Other highlights include Ben Gibbard and Feist on a dreamy acoustic duet "Train Song", The National taping "So Far Around the Bend", Sufjan Stevens covering The Castanets' tune "You Are The Blood", and the best Decemberists song I've heard in a while, "Sleepless".
Disc two starts with a calculated effort from Spoon's Britt Daniel and the quality of Dark Was The Night never relents. Arcade Fire's "Lenin" recalls an warmer, fuzzier period in their early career. Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio makes an appearance for "With A Girl Like You". Even Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, who add some soul to the rock-laced album are completely on point. And Bright Eyes rehashing his own "Lua" seems fresh, as Gillian Welsh joins him to make it a duet.
The crowning point (for me, at least) on Dark Was The Night is The New Pornographers covering the Destroyer song "Hey, Snow White". It's solemn, clear, building, and triumphant; encapsulating the feel of the entire project, both from a musical and human standpoint.
I can't remember the last time a joint effort by this many artists sounded so well-meshed. If nothing else, Dark proves that a compilation, done right, is still a beautiful thing.
