“Dusk” by The The

By Evan Ferstl

Following the 1987 breakup of The Smiths, the legendary Manchester alternative rock band, guitarist Johnny Marr joined the band of his old friend Matt Johnson. Since Johnson’s band, The The, had already released its fair share of sensational music, this new addition to the band was destined to be a match made in rock heaven. The The’s first album with Marr on guitar was “Mind Bomb,” released in 1989. While it is packed with quality music, Johnson occasionally made bizarre lyrical choices that nearly sabotaged the whole thing. Four years later, The The released “Dusk,” their second and final album with the prolific guitarist, in one last attempt to make something truly special. 

“Dusk” opens unconventionally, with a Matt Johnson monologue in which the singer rambles psychotically about his profound dissatisfaction while an overly enthusiastic crowd laughs at things that aren’t funny. This surreal moment is followed by a very good song, “True Happiness This Way Lies,” where Johnson bemoans “feelings that could never be fulfilled” and proclaims that “the only true freedom is freedom from the heart’s desires.” Even as fun and provocative as this opening track is, “Dusk” only gets better and never looks back, as the band launches into “Love is Stronger Than Death,” a touching ballad about overcoming grief. This song is the best The The song to date, one of the greatest songs of all time, and punctuated by a heartbreaking harmonica solo from Johnny Marr himself. It is followed by “Dogs of Lust,” which is more of a blues-rocker, “This is the Night,” a slower song that makes exceptional use of quiet-loud dynamics, and “Slow Emotion Replay,” a harmonica-driven pop song that’s as emotionally disturbing as it is a blast to listen to. 

The second half of the album begins with “Helpline Operator,” a masterfully written song where the person who seemingly needs the most help is the operator himself, and “Sodium Light Baby,” where Johnny Marr’s brilliance as a guitar player takes center stage. These are followed by “Lung Shadows” and “Bluer Than Midnight,” a pair of sparse, slow songs. While the former is quiet and creepy, the latter is absolutely devastating. The album triumphantly concludes its perfect run with “Lonely Planet,” a full-blown anthem with the defeatist message of “if you can’t change the world, change yourself” smuggled into a resounding chorus. 

“Dusk,” first and foremost, is an album about isolation and existential dissatisfaction, and the combination of Matt Johnson and Johnny Marr allows these feelings to be delivered with absolute mastery. Gone are the obtuse lyrics from Mind Bomb, replaced with memorable, captivatingly profound lines from start to finish. For Marr’s part, the guitar work is at least as excellent as the very high bar he set with The Smiths. Even within the world of celebrated alternative rock albums, “Dusk” is one of the most criminally overlooked masterpieces of all time, waiting to delight any adventurous listeners who desire to bask in its lonely glory.