Dark Was The Night

Let’s face it – we aren’t exactly living in the greatest of times. We are living in a world that has plunged into a period of economic uncertainty not seen since the Great Depression, of nations ravaged by war and ignorance, and families torn apart by famine and disease. But however cliche it sounds; sometimes out of humanity’s darkest days comes the greatest of art, which brings us a glimmer of hope and the promise that change is on its way. From the free-spirited protest songs against the ill-fated Vietnam War of the late-Sixties/early-Seventies, to the struggles of the British working-class that inspired the punk movement in the 80s, to the backlash to the Bush administration and the chaos and loss of innocent lives in ongoing conflicts in the Middle East – music has always rose to confront the fear, confusion and loss that the times have brought.

Which brings us to this album.

Born of an idea between The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner; recruit the biggest names in indie pop and rock (including Conor Oberst, The Decemberists, Feist, and Sufjan Stevens, among others), and put together a compilation of unreleased, original and cover songs in the name of charity. It was decided that profits would benefit the Red Hot Organization – an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS through albums, related television programs and media events. John Carlin, the founder of the Red Hot Organization, was the executive producer for the album. It was an idea that sounded good on paper, and because of the musical calibre of the artists involved, it translates tremendously well on tape. Whereas most charity albums are typically a collection of lazily tossed off b-sides that share no real similar themes, this is a very cohesive album and there are no real duds. Instead of thirty-one individual tracks, you get a double album (or triple vinyl, if you’re willing to spring the extra money for it) of songs that share a common thread and transition effortlessly between each other. Despite the seriousness of the cause they are trying raise awareness for, this is the perfect soundtrack for waking up to the sunrise and spending lazy afternoons sitting in a downtown cafe with a steaming cup of tea in one hand, accompanied by either a good friend or an unfinished crossword puzzle. Dark Was The Night takes its title from an old blues song byBlind Willie Johnson, which Kronos Quartet turns into a faithful instrumental cover, and most of the song choices are deep-rooted in folk music and Americana.

The album’s strongest tracks make nods to our present-day fears; when Regine Chassagne and Win Butler trade verses on Arcade Fire’s “Lenin”, with its chorus of “Cause the money’s all been spent”, they might as well be directly speaking about the pressures and challenges people are feeling from the recession. And if it wasn’t for the underlying horns on Sufjan’s fantastic transformation of “You Are The Blood” (originally by a band called Castanets) – a slightly darker departure from his usually sunny, folf-pop songs with long-winded titles – which clocks in at over ten minutes, you might mistake it for a lost Radiohead track. Yet for such a Brooklyn-centric choice of bands (Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear,Yeasayer and TV On The Radio’s David Sitek – does that man ever pass up on a gig?), its the Canadian artists that make their presences most notably felt on Dark Was The Night. Everyone’s favourite Canadian songbird, Feist, contributes dependably solid vocals to two songs, “Service Bell” with Grizzly Bear and the achingly beautiful “Train Song” with Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. The New Pornographers’ cover of Destroyer’s “Hey, Snow White” is probably one of the best songs that I’ve heard from them – ranking up there for me with “Twin Cinema” and “Sing Me Spanish Techno” – by updating the classic fairy tale for modern times. When the Pornographers’ Kathryn Calder sings, “When the company goes public, you’ve got to learn to love who you are”, you can’t help but feel her emotion. I’d like to also give a special mention to Nova Scotian rapper Buck 65 – who has appeared on several charity compilations, including Warchild’s Help! A Day In The Life Of – who takes the aforementioned “Blood” and turns it into a showcase for his own dark and dense rhymes.

However the final word belongs to the curators, The National. While “So Far Around The Around The Bend” is far from the strongest song on the album, the band prove that they aren’t going to be dwarfed by the talent they’ve surrounded themselves with, and show that they are no slouches when it comes to writing a song. In a recent video interview, they told Pitchfork they had this song “that didn’t really fit” on any album, but it works perfectly here. When lead vocalist Matt Beringer sings, “Nobody knows where you are living/Nobody knows where you are” in his easily-identifed deep baritone, he’s most likely talking about some starry-eyed hipster girl from SoHo. In the context of the cause behind Dark Was The Night, this line could have easily been turned into a statement about the thousands of unnamed individuals suffering with HIV/AIDS living without hope or anyone to care for them – but it never is. So many musicians preach charity to the point where it becomes ad nauseam – this compilation is proof that its possible for artists to support a cause without being over-the-top, and make some beautiful music in the process.