Nightfall: What Could Be Better?

"Nightfall" is the first track from indie scene veteran Sue Garner's solo debut To Run More Smoothly (1998): an intimate and atmospheric ballad that articulates her singular appreciation for the contemplative mood and subtle state of mind that sets in once the sun finally goes down:

'The night falls on us both

What could beat the cool breeze

Lying in your arms?

What could be better?

Nothing is better

What could be better

Than the drift away

Leave the day behind

Nighttime will sort it out in the long run'

Garner has earned praise for her music's 'seductive intimacy' and "Nightfall's" lilting melodicism, and for the embodying a genuine earnestness that's hard to dislike: "she earns high praise for compiling solid, poetic songs and voicing them with an authentic and honest style" (Tom Schulte, AllMusic.com). There's an understated, unpretentious grandeur to the track - Garner's luxuriant, laconic and subdued vocals create a depth and conviction of feeling that seems timelessly hypnotic and enchanting. When Garner repeats the refrain 'I know better' four times towards the end of the song, you sense that she really, really does.