CD of The Week

Incredibly, it’s been seven years since David Byrne’s last album, the wonderful American Utopia, and a lot has happened since! That album’s tour became a successful Broadway show with an accompanying film (directed by Spike Lee!). Then, Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense got an anniversary re-release in theaters, which led to the unlikely reuniting of the famously acrimonious band members to promote the film and conduct multiple interviews together. But Byrne doesn’t like to sit still or look back for long, which brings us to Who Is the Sky?, his ninth solo album.

The title is a play on “who is this guy?” and came from a voice-to-text mistranslation Byrne received, and it works on multiple levels here, as he’s asking multiple questions throughout the album. For example, “What Is The Reason For It?,” which mixes Latin rhythms and mariachi horns, while Byrne mulls over his observations about the concept of love and is eventually joined by Paramore’s Hayley Williams, turning the song into a high-energy duet.  The strummy lead single “Everybody Laughs” looks at what makes us all similar, and features some all-too-brief backing vocals from Byrne’s old friend and collaborator St. Vincent. “She Explains Things to Me” is a snapshot of a narrator whose partner understands the world around him better, from movie plots to poems to love itself.

This is also the funniest David Byrne album ever. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed out loud multiple times at one of his records. Maybe he’s been hanging out too much with John Mulaney and Fred Armisen? “Moisturizing Things” is perhaps the silliest song he’s ever released: a tale of a man who uses magic skin cream and wakes up with the face of a baby. “My Apartment is My Friend” is indeed a loving ode to his NYC abode, though it has its origins in COVID lockdowns and being trapped indoors. “I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party” is an absurd storytelling song, where the religious icon is stuffing his face with pastries “like there’s no tomorrow” and makes existential small talk with Byrne. “The Avant Garde” is a playful jab at the art world, one that Byrne has of course been inside of since the late 1970s.

The production is crisp and clear, with Byrne’s voice front and center constantly (and he sounds great for his early 70s!). This may be due to pop producer Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Florence + The Machine) behind the boards. However, it’s not the most musically adventurous Byrne record. It would’ve been nice to hear some more unique sonic ideas, rather than familiar grooves and swooning strings (provided by The Smile drummer Tom Skinner and the chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra, among others). On American Utopia, Byrne sang that “every day is a miracle,” and getting such a delightful album as Who is The Sky? from him is one too.

David Byrne returns to Philadelphia for a three-night residency at The Met from October 16th-18th.