Songs for charity and social change
Rosie Swash, The Guardian, 4 February 2009 [Link]

Charity singles don't always make for spectacular listening, particularly when they involve a collaboration between previously unacquainted artists. But for every Heather Smalls doing Lou Reed's Perfect Day, there are fantastic little labels like 4AD throwing all their independent might into one big simmering pot of talent. The Dark Was the Night compilation features a prestigious lineup of musical muscle old and new (Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, Stuart Murdoch and more), some offering cover versions and others offering original songs with all proceeds going to the AIDS charity Red Hot. The first track on this double A-side pits hardcore punk revisionists Dirty Projectors against post-rock innovator and ex-Talking Heads man David Byrne for the lo-fi melodic fare of Knotty Pine. On the flipside, gloomy, baritone five-piece the National lighten up for a spot of sweet Americana in So Far Around the Bend. This double single and its parent compilation are excellent, in a way that Peter Kay's Geraldine probably never will be.