American Utopia

American Utopia
A crude painting outlining a human body overlooking skyscrapers
Studio album by David Byrne
Released March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Studio
Length 37:17
Label
Producer
David Byrne chronology
Brass Tactics
(2014)		 American Utopia
(2018)

American Utopia is the seventh solo studio album by the American rock musician David Byrne. It was 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.[1]

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.[1] The title is derived from the Ian Dury song "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3".[2]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubB[4]
The Arts Desk[5]

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 71 based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3] The Arts Desk's Howard Male gave the album a positive review calling it a "a muscular and quirky return to form".[5] 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.[4]

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.[6]

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" (Byrne, Daniel Lopatin) – 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" (Byrne, Lopatin) – 4:13

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 82
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] 22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] 88
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11] 2
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[12] 43
French Albums (SNEP)[13] 129
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 31
Irish Albums (IRMA)[15] 18
Italian Albums (FIMI)[16] 32
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[17] 2
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[18] 10
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 16
US Billboard 200[22] 3

References

  1. 1 2 Adams, Erik (January 8, 2018). "David Byrne's First Solo Album in 14 Years Is Coming This March". The A.V. Club.
  2. ↑ "David Byrne's New Album, American Utopia, Due March 9 on Todomundo / Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records. January 8, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "American Utopia by David Byrne". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Adams, Erik (March 8, 2018). "David Byrne can be your guide to an uneven American Utopia". The A.V. Club.
  5. 1 2 Male, Howard (March 3, 2018). "CD: David Byrne – American Utopia". The Arts Desk.
  6. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (March 18, 2018). "David Byrne Achieves First Top 10 Album on Billboard 200 Chart with American Utopia". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  7. ↑ "ARIA Chart Watch #464". auspOp. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – David Byrne – American Utopia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – David Byrne – American Utopia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Ultratop.be – David Byrne – American Utopia" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  11. ↑ "David Byrne Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – David Byrne – American Utopia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Lescharts.com – David Byrne – American Utopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – David Byrne – American Utopia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography David Byrne". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – David Byrne – American Utopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  17. ↑ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – David Byrne – American Utopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – David Byrne – American Utopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  22. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (March 18, 2018). "Logic Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Bobby Tarantino II'". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
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