Look Into The Eyeball
by David Byrne
  • Record Label: Virgin
  • Release Date: May 8, 2001
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    His Great Solo Album, folding his obsessions with Afro-Cuban rhythms, Brazilian art song, American soul-funk, and workaday surrealism into perhaps his sweetest melodies ever. [11 May 2001, p.80]
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  2. Mojo
    90
    The former Talking Head has rarely sounded so vital.
  3. Sonicnet
    90
    Perhaps his most humane album and warmest work to date.
  5. Pitchfork
    80
    Unexpectedly, though, some of the record's best moments come when Byrne strips away the rhythmic accessories and relies on basic orchestral backing... And yet, the majority of the album still relies on primal, swinging grooves.
  6. CDNow
    70
    What makes this disc cohere is the world view presented in Byrne's quirky lyrics, sometimes stark to the point of simplicity and often with the detached tone of an observer alternately shocked or amused.
  7. Wall of Sound
    60
    This is an album about textures, grooves, and sounds, but it's not really about songs. Once one is done decoding its structure, Look Into the Eyeball is an elegant but empty building.
  8. Blender
    60
    While Eyeball is essentially a breezy gloss on the blend of idiosyncratic pop chops and exotica that characterizes much of the Luaka roster, it's buoyantly lightweight nonetheless. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.106]
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  9. Dot Music
    60
    Often thought of as ahead of his time perhaps Byrne is now in the perfect position to articulate the angst of socially unskilled western white men who find themselves taking over the world via new technology. The album's glut of different rhythms speaks of a man trying to find his groove.
  10. Alternative Press
    40
    A perfectly pleasant background score for pasta-making, garden work, and other stuff 40-something yuppies waste their time on. Which makes it my definition of hell, actually. [Jul 2001, p.60]
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  11. The Wire
    30
    Without the strength of material to prompt the question of whether Byrne should be taken at face value or not, the songs on Look Into The Eyeball simply glide by unobtrusively, and Byrne's romantic sentiments start to sound like Paul McCartney at his blandest. [#208, p.53]
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Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Most Shared Album of 2001

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. StephenD.
    Jun 27, 2001
    10
    There is no greater capturer of the modern real-daily-workings-life humanity than the lyrisist, Mr. Byrne. Thhe juxtaposition of musicical There is no greater capturer of the modern real-daily-workings-life humanity than the lyrisist, Mr. Byrne. Thhe juxtaposition of musicical style to these lyrics is essential to his reality caracturizations, two kinds of beauty that fit so well together.… Full Review »
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