ACL Fest Friday Reviews

David Byrne & Brian Eno

The last time Byrne and Eno met on record was 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a sample-heavy sound collage screwed and chopped in the experimental twilight of NYC. Its follow-up 27 years later shrugs off the avant coil and puts on a sensible sweater. Byrne provides vocals, Eno the music, and the two layers yield actual songs this time: the charming, wobbly "Strange Overtones," where Byrne jabs: "This groove is out of fashion. These beats are 20 years old"; gospel strong-arm "One Fine Day"; and luminous closer "The Lighthouse," which has Eno's warm keys all over it. By contrast, the outdated beats of six-minute "I Feel My Stuff" and "Poor Boy" sit uncomfortably next to torch song "My Big Nurse" and muted colors of "Everything That Happens." Thirty years after first collaborating on the Talking Heads, these two don't have to mine the past since there's nothing that remarkable about Everything. Is it blasphemy to have expected more from two musical innovators, or is it just time for everyone to finally sing along? (David Byrne plays 6:30pm, AT&T stage.)