Weekly Music Roundup: David Byrne, Danielle Ponder, and Paul Simon

This week, new music from old hands Robert Plant, Paul Simon, and David Byrne; and from newer voices Girl Ultra and Danielle Ponder.

Photo of Danielle Ponder, courtesy of the artist's Bandcamp

David Byrne and Daniel Pemberton’s New Song Is About… Elon Musk?

Today is the opening day for the documentary film MUSK, by Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney. A film about Elon Musk that Musk himself refused to be interviewed for, MUSK ends with a song by the film composer Daniel Pemberton (Project Hail Mary, Slow Horses, etc.) and singer/songwriter David Byrne. Gibney has done some absolutely wonderful music docs, and put the two musicians together to create “Let Me Sell You A Dream,” a song that refuses to do the obvious thing (making fun of Elon Musk) and instead does something way more interesting (using Musk’s own words to make fun of him). Right off the bat, hearing David Byrne intone the line “I’m extremely hardcore” in his totally non-threatening voice lets you know what kind of ride you’re in for. 

For Danielle Ponder, Everything Has Changed

Five years ago, Danielle Ponder was a lawyer (and I guess still is) who sang as a hobby. But now, everything has changed: at 39, she decided to put her full self into her music; the result was a stellar debut album in 2022 called Some Of Us Are Brave. Today, Ponder released her sophomore effort, called Everything Has Changed. The Rochester-based singer draws on R&B, soul, and gospel for her powerhouse vocals, and many of the songs here have big, sumptuous arrangements that look back to the classic sounds of late 60s/early 70s pop. One standout track is “God Of You,” which begins with a kind of Nina Simone slowburn before bursting into a technicolor orchestra-with-chorus power ballad.  

Paul Simon Presents The Quiet Celebration Concert

As a result of some sudden hearing loss, Paul Simon had to reinvent his live concert experience; using a cutting-edge sound system that allows him to hear what he needs to hear without damaging his hearing, he has been touring with what he calls “The Quiet Celebration Concert.” What it lacks in volume it more than makes up for with beautiful new arrangements and a stunning band. (Special shout outs to the guitarists, Mark Stewart and Gyan Riley.) The set list includes the complete Seven Psalms, which on the night I saw it, at the Beacon Theater here in New York, had a moment where the sound just seemed to bloom magically – and somewhat quietly – in a way I hadn’t remembered from the recording.  Other highlights included standards like “Sound of Silence” and “Graceland,” a singalong chorus on “The Boxer,” and the vastly underrated “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War.” Now Simon has released a concert recording from McCaw Hall in Seattle, and one of the most immediately recognizable drum riffs in music history, recreated by the man who first played it half a century ago, leads the band into a live version of “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.” Watch the video and you’ll see Steve Gadd effortlessly tapping out the song’s iconic rhythm, and it soon becomes clear that everyone – band and audience alike – is having a great time.  

Girl Ultra Releases Playful LP RRRomeo

Girl Ultra is the work of Mariana de Miguel, a singer from Mexico City whose music runs the gamut of pop styles. Her new LP RRRomeo is rooted in R&B and dance music, but with frequent excursions to funk, reggae, 80s-style new wave, even Indian sitar music. The album’s connecting thread, implied by the title, is romance – its highs and lows – and Girl Ultra’s playful approach veers from the flirty “Te Caigo” to the finger-pointing “Tomas.” Much of the album was made with the Canadian funk duo Chromeo, and they appear on this track, “Ironia,” which has a motoric dance rhythm reminiscent of some of the Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder hits of the late 70s.  

Robert Plant Reinvents A Bert Jansch Song

Robert Plant’s Saving Grace, a collection of musicians from the western countryside of England where he lives, has just released an EP called All That Glitters… The project continues Plant’s longstanding interest in folk, blues, and other forms of roots music, and two of the four songs on the EP are traditional folk tunes. The others are covers of Gillian Welch’s “Orphan Girl,” and this track, a dark, brooding version of “Poison,” by the late English folk musician Bert Jansch. Jansch’s original was a shuffling folk-blues, which almost made the crucial lyric “your Creator is running out of ideas” seem like a bit of wry, good-natured advice. But Plant’s take on the song is ominous and grounded in the distant drone of the electric guitar. Eerie, atmospheric, and ultimately disquieting, this “Poison” won’t clear your system too quickly.