Eleventh solo studio album from David Byrne. American Utopia started with music written by longtime Byrne collaborator Brian Eno and evolved from there. As it grew and changed, so would the cast of characters involved. The list of musicians and producers includes the likes of Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, King Krule, Adele), Patrick Dillett (Nile Rogers, Sufjan Stevens,) drummer Joey Waronker (Atoms for Peace, Beck), Isaiah Barr on sax (Onyx Collective), Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman), Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), and singer and pianist Sampha, but does not end there. You could say that Byrne's Utopia is packed with a staggering amount of talent. The music is inspired and challenging, filled with ambient excursions and heavy electronic passages. Byrne turns his focus towards day to day life, examining different perspectives while giving the listener the chance to reflect on things that may go by unseen. Ten tracks in all. Released by Nonesuch on black vinyl housed in a full color sleeve with a foldout insert and digital download.

• foldout with lyrics, credits and a graphic on ten pages
• digital download included
• music label: Nonesuch 2018

reviewed by Hank Ohs 03/2018