The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness

"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
Single by The National
from the album Sleep Well Beast
Released May 11, 2017
Format Digital download
Genre
Length 3:56
Label 4AD
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Aaron Dessner
  • Bryce Dessner
  • Matt Berninger
  • Peter Katis
The National singles chronology
"I Need My Girl"
(2014)		 "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
(2017)		 "Guilty Party"
(2017)

"I Need My Girl"
(2014)		 "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
(2017)		 "Guilty Party"
(2017)
Music video
"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" on YouTube

The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness is a song by American indie rock band The National. It was released as the lead single for their upcoming seventh studio album, Sleep Well Beast, at 12:01am Eastern Time on 11 May 2017. The song was written by Aaron Dessner, Matt Berninger, and Bryce Dessner and produced by Aaron Dessner (with co-production by Bryce Dessner, Matt Berninger, and Peter Katis). A music video for the song was released on the same day and was directed by Casey Reas.[1] It reached No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart on August 2017, making it the band's first song to top a Billboard songs chart.[2]

Critical reception

On the day of its release Pitchfork named it Best New Track, noting that "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" is "heavy and urgent and surprisingly aggressive—and not just because of Aaron Dessner's gnarly guitar solo in the middle."[3]

Also Paste magazine named it one of the five best songs of the week, placing it at position 4 and wrote: "Floating in with poignant piano chords and twitchy guitar, 'The System' features multiple instrumental layers, with trumpet fluttering over propulsive percussion and Matt Berninger's thundering baritone. It's a fine return to form."[4]

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[5] 4
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[6] 1
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[7] 34

References

  1. ↑ "The National unveil new single 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness' & announce 2017 UK tour". NME. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  2. ↑ Rutherford, Kevin (August 3, 2017). "The National Notches First No. 1 on a Billboard Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  3. ↑ "The National “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  4. ↑ "The 5 Best Songs of the Week: Sheer Mag, The National and More". Paste. May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The National – The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  6. ↑ "The National – Chart history" Billboard Adult Alternative Songs for The National. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  7. ↑ "The National – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for The National. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
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