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David Byrne<\/a> has revealed his new song, \u201cThe Avant Garde,\u201d the third preview of his upcoming album,\u00a0Who Is the Sky?<\/em><\/a> Stream it below.<\/p>\n Produced by Grammy winner Kid Harpoon with arrangement from New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra, the track takes on the idea of whether one should create art for art\u2019s sake, with lyrics like: \u201cIt\u2019s a passionate life, it\u2019s ahead of the curve\/ It\u2019s deceptively weighty, profoundly absurd\/ Well, it\u2019s whatever fits\/ It\u2019s the avant garde.\u201d<\/p>\n Get David Byrne Tickets Here<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSome people will hear this and say, \u2018David is calling bullshit on his friends\u2019 but it\u2019s more nuanced than that,\u201d Byrne said in a statement about the song. \u201cAnyone 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).\u201d<\/p>\n Related Video<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cThat said, trying something unproven and radically new is risky. Sometimes, as with anything risky, it doesn\u2019t quite hit the bullseye. There\u2019s 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. So yes, there are times when it doesn\u2019t mean shit, but often there are times when something wholly original comes into being and it\u2019s all worth it. I love that the Ghost Train folks and Kid Harpoon took what could have been a fairly conventional song I\u2019d written (musically at least), and steered it into something that to me sounds like Led Zeppelin meets Dirty Projectors.\u201d<\/p>\n Byrne is set to celebrate the album\u2019s release with a multi-leg world tour across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe beginning in September. See the full schedule below, and get tickets here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Who Is the Sky?<\/em> marks Byrne\u2019s first album since\u00a02018\u2019s critically acclaimed\u00a0American Utopia<\/em><\/a>. Out September 5th via Matador Records, it features previous singles \u201cShe Explains Things to Me\u201d<\/a> and \u201cEverybody Laughs.\u201d\u00a0Pre-orders<\/a> are ongoing.<\/p>\n