Dusk (The The album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	C[4]
NME	8/10[5]
Q	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Select	4/5[8]

Dusk received positive reviews. In the NME, Terry Staunton wrote, "It can be a struggle at first, as Johnson never lets up from his blacker-than-black world-view, but Dusk is a rich and hugely rewarding experience which draws you to its cold bosom again and again."[5] In Melody Maker David Bennun observed that it was "a remarkably straightforward album" for Johnson and wrote, "Like Nick Cave, Johnson protects himself from the ridicule he invites with bombastic self-caricature. When he lets this slip, he's left with an album that, although frequently absorbing, is still as inherently laughable as any The The album. Dusk needs time to grow; it deserves it. But while it takes it, the Dogs of Lust are closing in, howling with mirth."[9] Sam Samuelson of AllMusic declared it one of Johnson's "most accomplished products to date."[2]

Tracks written by Matt Johnson.

1. "True Happiness This Way Lies" – 3:10
2. "Love Is Stronger than Death" – 4:38
3. "Dogs of Lust" – 3:09
4. "This Is the Night" – 3:50
5. "Slow Emotion Replay" – 3:55
6. "Helpline Operator" – 4:48
7. "Sodium Light Baby" – 3:45
8. "Lung Shadows" – 4:34
9. "Bluer Than Midnight" – 3:43
10. "Lonely Planet" – 5:27

• Matt Johnson – vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Johnny Marr – guitar, harmonica, six-string bass, backing vocal
• James Eller – bass guitar, backing vocal
• David Palmer – drums, backing vocal
• D. C. Collard – keyboards
• Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
• Bruce Smith – drums
• Danny Thompson – upright bass on "This Is the Night"
• John Thirkle – trumpet on "Helpline Operator"
• David Lawrence – flugelhorn on "Lung Shadows"
• Ashley Slater – trombone on "Lung Shadows"
• Chris Batchelor – trumpet on "Lung Shadows"
• Guy Barker – trumpet on "Bluer Than Midnight"
• Paul Webb, Zeke Manyika – chorus on "Lonely Planet"