The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness

"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 seventh studio album, Sleep Well Beast, at 12:01 am 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 was the band's first song to appear on any airplay chart in the United States, ultimately topping Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart in August 2017 and peaking at No. 33 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart early the following month. The song is featured in soundtrack of the EA Sports video game FIFA 18.[2]

"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
Single by The National
from the album Sleep Well Beast
ReleasedMay 11, 2017
Genre
Length3:56
Label4AD
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)
Music video
"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" on YouTube

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]

The song was also cited as one of Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2017 in a Spotify playlist compiled by Obama at the end of the year.[5]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[6] 4
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[7] 1
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[8] 33

Year-end charts
Chart (2017) Position
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[9] 5
Chart (2019) Position
Portugal (AFP)[10] 2289

References
  1. "The National unveil new single 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness' & announce 2017 UK tour". NME. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  2. Connick, Tom (14 September 2017). "The FIFA 18 soundtrack is here". NME. Retrieved 24 December 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. "Obama's Favourite Songs of 2017". December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  6. "Ultratop.be – The National – The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. "The National Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  8. "The National Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  9. "Adult Alternative Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  10. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
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