Music Review: David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
"Everything that happens will happen today/nothing has changed and nothing's the same/every tomorrow will be yesterday/everything that happens will happen today."
Two travelers, lost in time - kindred souls separated for years by nothing but being busy.
A match made in heaven. David Byrne: innovative songwriter, front man of the defunct legends Talking Heads. Brian Eno: ambient mastermind, producer of more amazing records than some labels have even released.
And in their first collaboration in twenty five years, they meld their legacies into something entirely new and brilliant.
Everything That Happens starts on two down tempo cuts "Home" and "My Big Nurse". On both, Byrne's vocal subtlety is fantastic and Eno's undeniable wizardry behind the boards is moving.
As things pick up for the left field "I Feel My Stuff", it only serves to remind how Eno probably still crafts the most dense and palatable mixes in the business, and how Byrne has been on a different planet all these years where music has never been boring or imperfect.
"The River" embodies both the strength and fragility of the duo's combined efforts, as Byrne - layered upon himself marvelously by Eno - sings "one sad day I will fly away/and one sad day I will tiptoe away."
David displays just how much energy is left in him and how he's "thankful for every little drop" of vigor on "Wanted for Life" as guitars chime in a bell-like way only Brian can make them.
"Strange Overtones" makes the perfect capstone for Everything That Happens; admittedly "slightly out of fashion", with beats that are "twenty years old", there's still something charming about what Byrne and Eno are able to accomplish.
They've pushed technology to its limit time and again, exhausted every inspiration available, and still they sound fresh and brimming with confidence; it will surely rub off on all listeners.
