Peter Gabriel I/O
More than 20 years after his last release, Peter Gabriel picks up right where he left off with his new album, I/O. Judging from much of what I’ve read, lots of people are apparently a little miffed about that, figuring there should have been more of a progression after such a long wait. I’m personally more aligned with the notion that he left off at a pretty damned good spot, and I’m plenty glad to get more of it
For anyone who may not be aware, the album is actually two different mixes of a dozen new tunes: a “bright-side” mix, each song of which was released on twelve consecutive full moons, and a “dark-side” mix, each song of which was released on the corresponding new moons. For whatever it’s worth, I’m mostly partial to the dark-side mixes, but both are pretty great. (There’s also a surround sound Dolby Atmos mix, which I like less, but as I don’t have a surround sound system to hear it on, I don’t really feel qualified to judge.)
To be completely honest, I feel like there are a few lyrical rough spots here and there throughout the record. On the other hand, I kind of can’t stop listening, and my nitpicks bother me less and less over time. On the whole this is very easily one of my favorite albums of the year.
Get some music in your ears, everybody!
