Scottish-born, New York-based icon David Byrne pairs his restless pop instincts with a 15-piece chamber ensemble for a set that feels both off-kilter and inviting. Led by the buoyant shuffle of 'Everybody Laughs', the record balances Byrne's anthropological lyrics with Ghost Train Orchestra's lush brass, winds and strings, all sculpted by producer Kid Harpoon. 'My Apartment Is My Friend' spins domestic solitude into sly metropolitan humour, while 'A Door Called No' nestles wry existential dread inside a melodic waltz. Cameos add bright flashes-St. Vincent hollers alongside Byrne on 'Everybody Laughs', Tom Skinner's loose-limbed drumming animates 'The Avant Garde', and Hayley Williams hovers ghost-like over the vaporous 'I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party'. Despite the ornate orchestration, the songs remain direct, their grooves clean, their refrains sticky. Byrne's gift for making cerebral ideas feel communal is undimmed; the result is curious, theatrical and oddly life-affirming all at once.