The Night Just Keeps Coming In

Album Review

Part remix collection, part collaboration, part sequel, The Night Just Keeps Coming In acts as a complementary piece to the Dakota Suite's The End of Trying, finding the same level of elegantly dark, contemplative moods but in somewhat different form. This results from the track-by-track appearance of a variety of performers, from Dutch electronic artist Machinefabriek, whose "One Day Without Harming You" starts the album on a stark note, piano and backwards notes interweaving, to Swod's nervous, quick-paced keyboards for "Een Langzaam Lekkende Wond" and Loscil's gentler flow of piano and strings on "Things We Lost Along the Way." With nearly all of Chris Hooson's vocal and guitar contributions completely removed from the tracks, the result is a near-cinematic feeling of crushing emotion. Meanwhile, cellist David Darling appears throughout the collection, his sympathetic playing adding immeasurably not only to individual performances but the overall flow of the album — the resultant variety is so gentle that it could easily be heard as the work of one artist rather than a collective. The standouts include Hauschka's "A Quietly Gathering Tragedy," piano notes softly echoing into the background as a central melody recurs, and the four consecutive parts of "The End of Trying," beginning with Arve Henriksen's lovely turn on trumpet and then flowing into Greg Haines' crumbling tape distortion; Hannu's soft chimes and acoustic guitar set against distant piano; and Tape's concluding effort, a quiet blast of drone feedback seeing out the quartet.