David Byrne is officially back. The 73-year-old Talking Heads legend has announced his first solo album in seven years, Who Is the Sky?, dropping this September. It’s his follow-up to 2018’s American Utopia and features a blend of chamber pop, art rock, and Byrne’s signature off-kilter lyricism.
The album isn’t just Byrne alone, he’s teamed up with the New York-based Ghost Train Orchestra for lush arrangements, and there are guest spots from St. Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, and Tom Skinner of The Smile.
Speaking about the project, Byrne said, “Someone I know said: ‘David, you use the word ‘everybody’ a lot.’ I suppose I do. Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling.” That idea led to the album’s first single, Everybody Laughs, a track that blends bittersweet themes with an infectious groove.
“Music can hold opposites,” Byrne explained. “I try to sing about things that may sound negative, but the melody lifts them. Especially at the end, when St. Vincent and I are just hollering and singing together, it feels joyful.”
He also mentioned that age has given him a certain kind of freedom. “At my age, at least for me, there’s a ‘don’t give a shit what people think’ attitude. I know who I am. I sort of know what I’m doing,” Byrne said. Still, every new project is a leap into the unknown. “Every song is its own adventure. You think: how do I work this?”
Byrne’s approach to collaboration remains the same, clear vision, mutual understanding, and creative chemistry. “Not every collab works. But when it does, it’s because both people are moving in the same direction, even if it’s toward something unknown.”
Along with the album announcement, Byrne is hitting the road for a world tour starting September 14 in Providence, Rhode Island. He’ll make his way through North America, then head to Australia and New Zealand in January, followed by the UK and Europe in February. The tour wraps up in Paris on March 19.
With Who Is the Sky?, David Byrne isn’t reinventing himself so much as stretching into new territory with the confidence of a seasoned artist and the curiosity of a newcomer. If Everybody Laughs is any indicator, this album could be one of his most emotionally complex, and sonically exciting, works yet.
Whether you’re a longtime Talking Heads fan or just getting into Byrne’s solo material, this one’s worth paying attention to. The groove is still alive, and so is the sense of adventure.
Who Is the Sky? arrives this September.
