Now why is this? Why does it stand out so far from the rest, surely all their albums are the same: homogeneity of art-pop. I say not and I can also say why. Remain in Light is an unusual Talking Heads album because unlike most, which are almost entirely written by front man David Byrne, the words and music are (almost) entirely credited not only the core band itself but to two other special people which to me make all the difference; to Eno for a start, as previously he produced and nothing more, here he is making a song-writing and musical input as well as producing; secondly Adrian Belew is brought into the act, who is for me the most powerful artist on the album, he has the kind of musical virtuosity that the rest of the bad (bar Eno) lack and gives the sound a real strength, a body that the Talking Heads so often lack. Also he gives his inventive, occasional psychotic input into the song-writing, as does Eno, to create a greater variety of sounds, a greater reliance on the actual music itself rather than their other albums which are arguably powered by Byrne’s vocals more than anything else.

The fourth track is the one everyone knows: Once in a Lifetime. Twinkling keyboards; Byrne uncomfortable vocals; Eno’s layered backing vocals. The simple bass riff; everything is familiar, yet comfortably so; somehow this song is very Remain in Light and yet at the same time it is also very different. It feels progressive and at the same time a little retrospective. But what need have I to speak further of this, surely you know it well enough.

Now Byrne sounds slightly deranged singing Seen and Not Seen. Simplistic percussion, hand-claps ands and synthesized pads run behind the words of a man desiring to change his appearance though thought and will alone. Hmm, this is an entirely different song to what has gone before – though in a strange way it reminds me in part of Once in a Lifetime – and yet I’ll confess this is my least favourite song on the album. Though different I find it misfires, it never quite takes off. It’s not a bad song, it just doesn’t do enough, I feel no reason to be passionate about the song; I’m ambivalent about it, not even disinterested in it enough to skip it. I let it play because I’m waiting for the excellent:

I always thought that if the author William Gibson hadn’t written novels but music than he would have made music like The Overload. It comes as no surprise that in one of his novels (Virtual Light, I think) he thanks Eno for as Gibson wrote in his basement he surrounded himself with Eno’s music. And so I suspect that Eno is the mastermind behind The Overload. This is another remarkable change in tone from the Talking Heads and like The Listening Wind another absolute victory, showing that when they want to that they can be remarkably varied. The Overload is slightly ambient; there are swirling guitar-loops ala Robert Fripp in ambient mood. A pulsing synthesizer that sounds like the buzz of electricity; Byrne’s vocals are slow, measured, mechanical. There is a sense of futurity. There is a definite correlation here between Eno/Talking Heads and King Crimson’s industrial instrumentals. The music mirrors technological, electrical, cyberpunkish themes and sounds. I find this difficult to describe as the music hums and throbs behind the words, almost like early electronica with vocals; sounds buzz, whirl and swirl. Imagine the internet has a sound and it would be the music to The Overload. There is something so wonderfully evocative here, so magnificently subtle, hypnotic and minimal that it has to be heard to be recognised. It is even more intelligent then The Listening Wind and yet not in the least bit pretentious; it is music to become lost in.