American Utopia

His new American Utopia feels very much like the sum of Byrne's essential Heads DNA and everything that's passed since then. [16/23 Mar 2018, p.107]

This is Byrne at his best, as he calmly describes the impact of the object upon the victim’s history, feelings and anatomy that are being destroyed as a result of its violent intrusion. [May 2018, p.60]

American Utopia is epic, it’s sprawling, it’s filled with everything but the kitchen sink, but most of all, it’s filled with promise.

For all Byrne’s other endeavours, music is the forum where his quirky, zany, challenging ideas achieve emotionally satisfying expression. American Utopia is another glittering offering from an old master.

An album this strong, delivered this late into an artist’s career, would usually be given an ugly tag like “return to form” or something equally crass. However, in Byrne’s case, it’s simply a continuation of what has been--and will hopefully continue to be--a glittering career full of highlights and continuations of form.

It’s a David Byrne album. Which is to say: it’s melodic, goofy and very quirky.

Byrne filters grace, wonder and apocalyptic portent through his fractured worldview. [Apr 2018, p.95]

His creative fires still showing no signs of dimming, David Byrne remains as playful and brilliant as ever. [Apr 2018, p.114]

A well-timed treat delivered by one of music's most beloved eccentrics. Go explore.

In other words, it’s a David Byrne album: cerebral, but with an irresistible beat; and exuberant, but in a way that is self-contained. And if America right now is something less than a utopia, Byrne is a force for positivity, exhorting us all to do better.

While not expressly political, American Utopia can't help playing as a reaction piece.

It’s a worthy effort from a living legend, full of songs that are at least interesting and at times breathtaking.

The music is a hodgepodge of styles, techniques, and voices, but there’s a steady hand holding the needle, guided by a singular and seasoned vision--the curiosity and the enthusiasm that have long been his trademarks.

Occasionally it's awkward, but for the most part it shows there's still plenty of life in the old Head yet. [Apr 2018, p.91]

At times, particularly during the more meditative middle stretch, the album can be easier to admire than to love. ... But when Byrne’s themes and his compositions cohere, the results are wonderful to behold.

American Utopia is an album of beautiful and witty surfaces stretched over a sea of troubled waters, and if Byrne is rarely inclined to give direct answers to the questions he asks, it's obvious this isn't a joke, it's an ambitious work from an important American artist.

Byrne delivers some impressively wicked guitar outbursts, too. But the frantic segments generally recede too soon, supplanted by more less-anxious downtempo bits.

Utopia contains several solid entries into Byrne’s pop songwriting canon, but few revelations. Whimsical and surprisingly optimistic, it finds him following several different impulses at once.

Left to his own devices, Byrne comes home to a screwball hymnal mode that, for all the lyrical left turns, can feel a little too predictable. [Apr 2018, p.29]

While American Utopia has its missteps it is, on the whole, a joyous record that only Byrne could make. American Utopia is an album that is inquisitive not just about the world of today but of music’s power to transport and uplift us.

It's wise, but rhythmically, musically, it feels Byrne's age. [May 2018, p.91]

A mature and thoughtful reaction to the despair felt by many in the wake of Trump’s presidency.

American Utopia isn’t a complete paradise. Yet, there’s enough upbeat vibes on offer here to perhaps make you feel a little more optimistic about the future.

Despite the dream team behind it, American Utopia has much to like but little to love, perhaps its most apt, if unintended, critique of the country itself.

At a conservative 35 minutes, there’s little fluff. Still, some songs feel longer than they are and the sheer abundance of words is sporadically exaggerated and tiresome.

American Utopia is not quite as good as we’d all really love it to be. However, its quality of thought, emotional intelligence and sense of fun is remarkable.

While American Utopia isn't as vital a statement as it wants to be, it's the sound of one of pop music's most idiosyncratic voices continuing to follow his wayward muse.

Despite his reputation as one of rock’s great thinkers, Byrne has never sounded more like a stoned teenager staring at the clouds and spit-balling deep thoughts about the universe. And yet despite its many misfires—including a truly unfortunate pun on the word “duty” in that dog song—American Utopia manages two unblemished triumphs in its final stretch.

Whilst there are flashes of intriguing and exciting music on here, these moments aren't enough to convince anyone listening that the project is a complete success.

Byrne is too instinctive a songwriter to ever totally miss the mark, and his melodic gifts certainly haven’t left him--but this album often tends towards a ghastly dystopia of kitsch.