David Byrne & St. Vincent ‘Love This Giant.’ (4AD)

If it surprises you that David Byrne and St. Vincent have collaborated on an album together, then it shouldn’t. Both of them, after all, have demonstrated (in the case of Byrne over thirty-five years!) that they are both capable of writing pop songs, whilst also having an urge to experiment and produce something new.

And they’ve managed to do that on Love This Giant. There’s what the press release -very accurately -describes an an ‘explosive brass band’ which provides the backing for much of the album, along with a drum machine. The result is that it seems like a very funky jazz sort of backing, not in a musically self-indulgent way, either…in a way that seems to be unmistakeably the two protagonists.

This is definitely an album born out of leftfield, and it won’t appeal to those simply expecting numbers in the vein of ‘Actor Out Of Work’ or ‘And She Was.’ But if you’ve heard ‘Who,’ the album’s opening track, it gives an idea of what the album’s spirit is like. You may not find you love this album…but it’s sure as heck worth spending some time with.

Love This Giant is out now on 4AD.