David Byrne & St. Vincent

Add Date: September 11 

Artist: David Byrne & St. Vincent 

Album: Love This Giant 

Label: Todo Mundo/4AD 

Genre: Rock, alt-pop 

Comments: As a fan of both artists, I think that it would be impossible for me not to like Love This Giant, the product of a collaboration between David Byrne and St. Vincent. Byrne's musical résumé is as impeccable as it is lengthy, from his career with the Talking Heads to his foundation of the Luaka Bop imprint--not to mention his work in other platforms ranging from film to prose. But perhaps his greatest asset is his fandom; Byrne actively seeks out new and exciting music, and he was attending St. Vincent shows long before he had officially met Annie Clark.

And for her part, Clark could easily become the David Byrne of her generation. Her three studio albums as St. Vincent have taken rock music in an exciting new direction, from her ridiculous guitar work to her unorthodox approach to songwriting. Similar things were said about Byrne and the Talking Heads over three decades ago. So, as NPR's All Songs Considered has declared, this collaboration is "a dream pairing".

After months of buildup and hype, Love This Giant is finally here. And it sounds almost exactly like what I would have expected from Byrne and St. Vincent--namely, it's a collection of excellent avant-garde pop songs, and a true collaborative effort: both have songwriting credits, and both sing lead vocals at times and harmony at others. Meanwhile, the brass band behind them, combined with the song structures, gives the tunes a funky, jazzy edge.

Love This Giant isn't quite as groundbreaking as some of the two artists' other albums, but it's really, really good. Start with tracks 4, 1, 7, 11, 9 and 6.