Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)

We Say...

Review by Kyle Anderson

In 1993, the Red Hot organization had their first big breakout with No Alternative, a collection of alt-rock b-sides that helped not only raise money and awareness for AIDS research, but also provided a sense of continuity among the various bands that fell under the alt-rock banner 16 years ago. A dozen or so comps followed which featured full-album tributes (like Red Hot & Rhapsody's run through the Gershwin song book) or simple genre showcases. Everything has come back around again as Dark Was the Night provides not only support for the AIDS epidemic, but also a snapshot of what it means to be indie in the 21st century.

Compiled and produced by the National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Dark Was the Night features top-shelf outtakes, covers and collaborations from the likes of Spoon, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst, New Pornographers, TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, the National, the Decemberists and dozens of others. The general tone reflects the post-millennial spirit of indie rock: that any problem can be solved with enough lushness and beauty. When held up next to No Alternative, it's undeniable that quiet is the new loud.

The songwriting on Dark Was the Night is impeccable. Bon Iver slathers his haunting pipes over a sparse acoustic strum and general spookiness on "Brackett, WI," as strong as track as he's produced. The National's "So Far Around the Bend" stars another one of their hapless heroines, caught up in the perpetual motion of failed relationships and briefly healing nightlife; in the end, she decides "There's no leaving New York." David Byrne's collaboration with the Dirty Projectors sports simple, delicate harmonies that represent the uncluttered spirit of the latter-day Talking Heads records, which automatically makes it the most effervescent, palatable song the Projectors have ever produced.

The covers on Dark Was the Night provide some of the compilation's most compelling highlights. Dave Sitek retreats into the fuzzier, trippier version of his band for a pretty run through the Troggs' "With a Girl Like You." Andrew Bird pays tribute to Handsome Family's "The Giant Of Illinois" with syrupy strings and jarring patches of silence. It's extremely difficult to steal songs away from a singularity like Bob Dylan, but Antony teams up with the National's Bryce Dessner to swipe "I Was Young When I Left Home" with a sad, otherworldly read.

And then there's Sharon Jones. It's no secret that she and the Dap-Kings work out brilliant slabs of biscuits & grits R&B, but their take on Shuggie Otis's "Inspiration Information" gives the original a run for its money. The simple, scratchy arrangement lets Jones' sweet croon float in and out of Otis' backyard barbecue groove. Stunning in its simplicity, "Inspiration Inspiration" should lead Jones to steal more Otis tunes in the future.

Even the more workmanlike entries on the compilation manage to shine: Spoon sound whip-smart on "Well Alright" and Arcade Fire spin their golden hum with "Lenin." It makes Dark Was the Night an amazingly satisfying double-disc. As No Alternative proved, alt is as eclectic as the minds involved, and the modern indie sound is less defined by what it is than what it aspires to be.