David Byrne has shared “The Avant Garde,” another new single from his forthcoming album, Who Is the Sky?, out September 5 via Matador Records. The stomping funk-rock-leaning track features some particularly clever observations from our ol’ pal Davey B. He sings: “Now I’m not sure how I feel about the avant garde / I like the idea, their politics, too / But I’m not really sure if that means that it’s good.” Same here, brother.
Regarding the track, Byrne said: “Some people will hear this and say, ‘David is calling bullshit on his friends,’ but it’s more nuanced than that. Anyone who knows me knows that I go to plenty of shows that might be classified as avant-garde or experimental. Edgy and untraditional work is hugely inspiring to me, as it often changes the way I think and influences what I do (without me simply appropriating the ideas, I hope). That said, trying something unproven and radically new is risky. Sometimes, as with anything risky, it doesn’t quite hit the bullseye. There’s no guarantee that it will achieve what it aims to do, but when it does, the emotional and intellectual rewards are worth it.
“That is the risk one takes while making something new and unconventional,” he continued. “So yes, there are times when it doesn’t mean shit, but often there are times when something wholly original comes into being and it’s all worth it. I love that the Ghost Train folks and Kid Harpoon took what could have been a fairly conventional song I’d written (musically at least), and steered it into something that to me sounds like Led Zeppelin meets Dirty Projectors.”
Check out “The Avant Garde” below, and pre-order Who Is the Sky? here.
