American Utopia


American Utopia is the seventh solo studio album by British-American rock musician David Byrne, released on March 9, 2018 through Todo Mundo and Nonesuch Records. The release is his first solo studio album since 2004's Grown Backwards, and serves as a musical component of a larger multimedia project titled Reasons to Be Cheerful, which attempts to spread positivity. Byrne announced the album and posted its lead single, "Everybody's Coming to My House", online on January 8, 2018.

Recording and release

The album is part of a larger multimedia project titled Reasons to Be Cheerful which aims to give reasons for being happy and optimistic in spite of political strife and environmental problems. The title is derived from the Ian Dury song "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3".

Reception

Critical reception

American Utopia received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 72 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The Arts Desk's Howard Male gave the album a positive review calling it a "a muscular and quirky return to form". Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the album a B, calling the album an uneven "mixed bag" but praising the album's themes.

Commercial reception

American Utopia became Byrne's first top 10 album on the Billboard 200, debuting at No. 3 with the equivalent of 63,000 copies sold in the United States.

Broadway show

In late 2019, Byrne was joined by 11 musicians to perform a modified version of American Utopia that incorporated several hits by Talking Heads into the soundtrack. The concert premiered at the Hudson Theatre in previews on October 4, 2019 and officially on October 20, closing on February 16, 2020. It will return to the Hudson for another limited engagement in September 2020.
Performances were filmed by Spike Lee for an upcoming theatrical documentary/concert film, set to be released in late 2020, debuting on HBO.

Track listing

All songs written by David Byrne and Brian Eno, except where noted.
  1. "I Dance Like This" – 3:33
  2. "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets" – 3:19
  3. "Every Day Is a Miracle" – 4:46
  4. "Dog's Mind" – 2:29
  5. "This Is That" – 4:31
  6. "It's Not Dark Up Here" – 4:10
  7. "Bullet" – 3:09
  8. "Doing the Right Thing" – 3:38
  9. "Everybody's Coming to My House" – 3:29
  10. "Here" – 4:13

    Personnel

Chart Peak
Australian Albums 82

Chart Position
US Top Rock Albums 74