David Byrne
Who Is the Sky?
Release Date: Sep 5, 2025
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Record label: Matador
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Album Review: Who Is the Sky? by David Byrne
Great, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 4
Elder statesman of alternative music returns with an invigorating and often joyous addition to his discography Over the summer, a ripple of excitement spread amongst a certain section of music fans when Talking Heads posted a typically cryptic update on social media – a shot of the cloudy moon with the date June 5 2025. Could one of the most influential art-rock bands be reforming? The answer of course, was no. The post was simply to mark 40 years since the band first played CBGBs in New York City, but it goes some way to demonstrating the hold that David Byrne‘s former band still has on pop culture.
Based on rating 4/5
David Byrne's lore as a whimsical songwriter with an affinity for buildings and food rings true on this new album, which boasts a delectable smorgasbord of introspective, story-driven tracks from the fascinating mind of the Talking Heads frontman. Album opener and lead single Everybody Laughs is a joyous example of Byrne's ever-inquisitive approach to music. It's a rumination on and celebration of shared experiences, creative spirit and the multiplicity of human existence set to a light, triumphant marching-band groove.
Based on rating 7/10
He's nerdy and awkward but iconic and cool. His subject matter is routinely quotidian - songs about buildings, food, a paucity of decent entertainment on TV - and yet he has an oversized presence, the bouffant and the big suit giving him extraterrestrial qualities. On Who Is The Sky?, his first studio release in seven years, he seems to be reckoning with his place in the pop landscape.
Opinion: Very Good
How often can an album be described as a victim of its accompanying tour's success? David Byrne's last record, 'American Utopia', will surely be remembered for the magnificence of its live show (which ended up on Broadway) first, and its actual songs second. It remains to be seen exactly what the former Talking Heads frontman has in store when he takes this latest LP, 'Who Is the Sky?', on the road, which at least means that for the time being, we can enjoy it for what it is; a typically playful, often infectious pop record. Everything is a touch off-kilter in Byrne's world - if he has even ever been on-kilter - a fact that remains the case this time around.
Opinion: Fairly Good
Where does that highway go to? In the case of David Byrne, now 73 and a revered solo artist and professional aesthete 35 years after Talking Heads split, it's led to a probably ineradicable status as one of rock's key figures. To his generation, his part in pioneering new wave, merging punk, funk and world music and generally never showing fear of art has been colossal, spilling into film and literature. To Olivia Rodrigo's generation, after joining her onstage recently, he's that slightly creepy white-haired great-uncle in red dungarees who can't dance, and came across as a wacky, zany, Pee Wee Herman-type figure.
'Who Is the Sky?'
is available now