After Dark 2
Various Artists
78:16 min • Italians Do It Better • May 17, 2013
Andrew Darley reviews
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A lot has happened since the first installment of After Dark greeted our ears back in 2007. The once virtually unknown, Johnny Jewel, has gone from strength to strength in the six intervening years and is now an established musical force to be reckoned with. The house producer and co-founder of the Italians Do It Better record label has earned his merits with his own band Chromatics, developing other artists under his label and gained widespread acclaim for his contribution to 2011’s Drive soundtrack. With all these developments, this new compilation embraces the roots that got him this far today. After Dark 2 nods to the past and future; rebooting the magic formula that worked so well the first time.
This follow-up incorporates several bands and artists whom Jewel has been involved within the past decade, delivering a work that fits effortlessly together. Whereas the first After Dark had a large focus on demos, cover versions and remixes, the sophomore is strictly all original material. For those who enjoyed the first offering will be delighted to see the return of the enigmatic Chromatics, Glass Candy and Farah. However, there are also a number of new figures, including; Desire, Symmetry, Appalossa and more.
As a whole, the compilation feels like the perfect party apprentice. It is diverse both in its mood and style. Starting with the bouncy optimism of ‘Warm In Winter’, the reminiscent ‘Fill The Blanks’ to Farah’s abstract and sultry ‘Into Eternity’; there is something to get even the most rigid moving. Even so, nothing on here will set to shock or differ vastly from the signature sounds that have previously risen from Italians Do It Better. Rather, this record takes elements of what was great about the first album and tightens them up for a more mature and direct punch. Every song here is a clenched fist of determination, laden with hooks and melodies that would have history’s pop titans crying over their keyboards. Take the Chromatics’ ‘Cherry’ for example, its airy pop and lofty guitar melody is something you won’t forget anytime soon -not impossible – maybe with the aid of an amnesiac coma. For a compilation as expansive as this, there are big moments that will make you smile (particularly Glass Candy’s “You’re beautiful” monologue), dance carelessly to on your own, or have sex to.
Johnny Jewel has once again compiled a summery, feel-good record that is sure to please and inspire; his involvement with all these artists showcases his diversity, ability and willingness to try new things. After Dark 2 stands head and shoulders above the explosion of synth music of recent times and the current resurgence of disco. Sometimes the sequel isn’t always a duff note.
