David Byrne has shared a third preview of his forthcoming album, Who Is The Sky?
‘The Avant Garde’ follows the release of lead single ‘Everybody Laughs’ and ‘She Explains Things To Me’ in recent months, and tackles the merits of creating art for art’s sake.
In a statement about the song, Byrne said: “Some people will hear this and say, ‘David is calling bullshit on his friends’, but it’s more nuanced than that. Anyone who knows me knows that I go to plenty of shows that might be classified as avant-garde or experimental. Edgy and untraditional work is hugely inspiring to me, as it often changes the way I think and influences what I do (without me simply appropriating the ideas, I hope).
“That said, trying something unproven and radically new is risky. Sometimes, as with anything risky, it doesn’t quite hit the bullseye. There’s no guarantee that it will achieve what it aims to do, but when it does, the emotional and intellectual rewards are worth it. That is the risk one takes while making something new and unconventional. So yes, there are times when it doesn’t mean shit, but often there are times when something wholly original comes into being and it’s all worth it.
“I love that the Ghost Train folks and Kid Harpoon took what could have been a fairly conventional song I’d written (musically at least), and steered it into something that, to me, sounds like Led Zeppelin meets Dirty Projectors.”
Spanning 12 tracks, Who Is The Sky? was produced by Kid Harpoon and arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. St. Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner also appear on the LP, which is Byrne’s first since 2018’s American Utopia.
Listen to ‘The Avant Garde’ below.
Matador will release Who Is The Sky? on September 5, 2025.
