AMERICAN UTOPIA
| David Byrne
AMERICAN UTOPIA
American Utopia is the seventh solo studio album by the American rock musician David Byrne. It was released on March 9, 2018 through Todo Mundo and Nonesuch Records. -wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
2018 - The timely album reminds us why the ex-Talking Head is one of pop music’s greatest chroniclers of creepy disorientation
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Pitchfork
2018 - David Byrne’s first true solo album in 14 years is daring and open-hearted. The risks Byrne takes on these songs, however, too often feel clumsy or gaudy.
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NPR
2018 - I'm thrilled to have a record that opens my eyes and widens my perceptions and helps me stop and make some sense of this inexplicable, mind-bending world of ours.
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NME
2018 - it’s a David Byrne album. Which is to say: it’s melodic, goofy and very quirky.
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Variety
2018 - There’s still plenty of room for darkness —... — but there’s enough hope and joy here to take Byrne at his word that the phrase “American Utopia” should be read without irony.
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American Song Writer
2018 - There’s plenty of artsy posturing but little sense of the irony and playfulness Byrne exhibits in his best work. At times, it feels as if Byrne is trying his hardest to be himself.
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Record Collector Magazine
its quality of thought, emotional intelligence and sense of fun is remarkable
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Spin
2018 - American 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.
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Slant Magazine
2018 - American Utopia is the sound of one of pop’s idiosyncratic voices continuing to follow his wayward muse.
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Line of Best Fit
2018 - 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 – ... – a glittering career full of highlights and continuations of form.
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Sereogum
2018 - But it’s a sound that makes its own kind of sense, and its moments of beauty, when Byrne just lets his melodies shine through, are transcendent.
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Newsday
2018 - A hopeful but honest look at the state of the nation. ... As with most Byrne projects, “American Utopia” is all about enjoying the ride.
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AV Club
2018 - A mixed bag of songs recorded with a variety of collaborators, American Utopia finds the nearly 66-year-old artist prodding at the stuff of modern life from a remote, but not unemotional, perch.
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The Telegraph
2018 - American Utopia is another glittering offering from an old master – in itself, a very good reason to be cheerful.
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Voice Magazine
2018 - If you are unfamiliar with either Talking Heads or David Byrne, I would consider this album to be a good starting point for listening
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Soundlab
2018 - this remains very much a David Byrne album, managing to combine upbeat music with out-of-left-field and, often downbeat, lyrics to produce something that, at its best, engages the brain as well as encouraging dance.
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The Wee Review
2018 - His keen musical ear and natural composition skills are ever present.
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Loud and Quiet
With it’s broadly uplifting melodies, and quizzical lyrics, ‘American Utopia’ offers listeners a little escapism rather than biting satire or concrete solutions.
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Associated Press
2018 - David Byrne has been asking questions and looking for answers since the first Talking Heads album over 40 years ago, and “American Utopia” continues that healthy habit.
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Sputnik Music
2018 - an added bonus of containing a treasure trove of gorgeous contributions from artists such as Daniel Lopatin, Sampha, and longtime collaborator Brian Eno, who had a hand in the beginnings of Utopia with his contribution of drum patterns for Byrne's use
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The friendly Critic
2018 - All in all, American Utopia is pretty good, bit too much filler, bit ballad heavy, but bearing all the standards of a David Byrne release – worldwide influences, great production (Brian Eno assisted) and fucking weird lyrics.
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Uncut
2018 - Pop polymath delivers surreal state of the nation address
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Glide Magazine
2018 - Byrnes pristine vocals can still make singing about simple things invigorating (check out album closer “Here”) but too often on the brief album, the lyrics remove the listener from the song.
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The Flash
2018 - although his music is no longer revolutionary, it is still experimental and boundary pushing
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Richer Sounds
2018 - It may not be the sat-nav to American Utopia, but it’s one hell of an interesting diversion along the way.
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Music OMH
2018 - 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.
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Renowned for Sound
2018 - American Utopia succeeds as an album in that it is remarkably easy to listen to in its entirety, yet somehow the individual songs don’t really stand on their own
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Daily Bruin
2018 - "American Utopia” brings the listener on a winding journey filled with punchy, infectious musical grooves and offbeat lyrics. Byrne has breathed fresh life into an already evolving musical era, creating an album unlike any other.
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Spectrum Culture
2018 - If he once gloried in his makeshift family, here Byrne feels a connection with the world, and if that makes for a more diffuse, less emotionally specific record, it’s nonetheless a warm statement from one of pop’s odder luminaries.
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Too Many Blogs
2018 - There is something contradictory and wonderful regarding American Utopia
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Daily Emerald
2018 - an interesting look into the current headspace of one the most important figures in American pop music. It may not be as good as “Speaking in Tongues,” but it’s still worth listening to.
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The 405
2018 - While American Utopia has its missteps it is, on the whole, a joyous record that only Byrne could make; an album that is inquisitive not just about the world of today but of music’s power to transport and uplift us.
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ARCN.com
2018 - Between the commentary tracks and the upbeat, dancing songs, American Utopia is the album that all Americans need but only some want.
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Cryptic Rock
2018 - Byrne is one of such idealists and visionaries, and American Utopia is his latest manifesto.
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Vinyl Me, Please
The sound they conjure is airy and simultaneously cramped, mechanical but also organic; which is to say it sounds like a David Byrne album should.
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QRO
2018 - David Byrne is always going to be a bit of an acquired taste, more praised by critical circles than embraced by popular ones – indeed, it is impressive how wide his acclaim has reached. American Utopia distills Byrne for this new world we live in.
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Golden Plec
2018 - Utopia is welcoming to all musical influences indiscriminate of creed, colour or gender. And like all of Byrne’s best work, its determinedly quirky, eccentric and individualistic.
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Scmutz
2018 - It’s not until the back end of the record that we finally see what we’ve been looking for from Byrne on this album: beautiful production, interesting and engaging arrangements, his signature vocal inflections, and a bit of a boogie.
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Exepose
2018 - American Utopia still thrives on how much fun it’s having. Jumping from item to item, theme-to-theme, an irrepressible energy surges all throughout; no matter the quality of one concept, there’ll be something else waiting round the corner.
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mxdwwn.com
2018 - The joy that Byrne highlights is emphasized by the playful style of music and lyricism used in the album. American Utopia is not only the musical brainchild of 25 collaborators, but born from Byrne’s analytical, forward-thinking point of view.
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http://www.backseatmafia.com/album-review-david-byrne-american-utopia/
2018 - American Utopia is a really important album. David Byrne knows full well that these are dark days. He understands the urge to switch off the news and hide. But he’s challenging us to pay attention, get involved and to choose to be happy instead. Not all of this album is easy to listen to, but by God, it really needs to be heard.
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The Young Folks
2018 - His corny jokes sound eerily similar to his grave warnings, and he isn’t always keen to arm the listener with the tools to distinguish between the two.
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New Zealand Herald
2018 - David Byrne has been asking questions and looking for answers since the first Talking Heads album over 40 years ago, and "American Utopia" continues that healthy habit.
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All Music
an album of beautiful and witty surfaces stretched over a sea of troubled waters
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Hot Press
2018 - a welcome riposte to the ugliness of the alt.right movement. Excellent stuff
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