_Jody Rogac_

David Byrne has announced a new solo album, American Utopia, set for release on March 9 via Todomundo/Nonesuch Records. The effort will mark the former Talking Heads frontman’s first full solo record since 2004’s Grown Backwards.

Byrne made the announcement in a presentation he gave today at New York’s New School, which was also broadcast live via his Facebook page and can be viewed below. The event came as part of Byrne’s Reasons to Be Cheerful series, in which he presents a number of optimistic findings he has uncovered over the past year.

“Is this meant ironically? Is it a joke?” Byrne writes in a press release of his new album’s title. “Do I mean this seriously? In what way? Am I referring to the past or the future? Is it personal or political? These songs don’t describe an imaginary or possibly impossible place but rather attempt to depict the world we live in now. Many of us, I suspect, are not satisfied with that world—the world we have made for ourselves. We look around and we ask ourselves—well, does it have to be like this? Is there another way? These songs are about that looking and that asking.”

Byrne has shared a track from American Utopia, “Everybody’s Coming to My House,” which was co-written with Brian Eno and can be heard in the video below. Byrne will also set out on a number of live dates in support of the record, including a run of Northeast US shows in March, appearances at 2018 fests like Coachella, Shaky Knees and New Jersey’s XPoNential, and a European tour this summer. See Byrne’s full schedule here.