"Under Cover of Darkness"is a song by AmericanrockbandThe Strokes.The single served as thelead singlefor their fourth studio album,Angles,and was released online on February 9, 2011 as a freedownloadfor 48 hours exclusively.[3]It was the first single release from the band in five years, following the release of "You Only Live Once"in 2006." Under Cover of Darkness "received positive reviews, managing to reachBBC Radio 1's A Playlist; before going on to debut at number 47 on therespective chart.[4]In October 2011,NMEplaced it at number 133 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[5]
Themusic videofor the song was released on March 2, 2011. The video was directed and produced byWarren FuatLoew's Jersey TheatreinJersey City,New Jerseyon February 17, 2011. The video begins with a clip of the music video for "You Only Live Once",and contains a reference to the song"Last Nite".The reference occurs when Julian Casablancas throws his microphone stand (which he also did in the video for" Last Nite ") while stating that" everybody's singing the same song for 10 years. "[citation needed]This led some to believe he was talking about the longevity of arguably the band's most popular single. However, in a 2014 interview, Casablancas stated that this line was an opinion of the music business essentially churning out the same old pop music without ever innovating, and not a reference to The Strokes or any particular band.[6]
"Under Cover of Darkness" is the third most successful single in the band's discography. It peaked at number 12 on Billboard'sAlternative Songschart and charted a total of 17 weeks.[7]
"Under Cover Of Darkness" was made available for download on July 24, 2012 to play inRock Band 3Basic and PRO mode utilizing real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards. It appears on the setlist forRocksmithwhich was released in October, 2011 in North America. The song is also featured on the soundtrack forbasketballsimulation gameNBA 2K15which was released in October 2014 in North America. The title of the song was also referenced in an episode ofPokémonanime called ' "Under Color of Darkness!", which was a part of season twenty-four.
