I/O

A late-career gem is what 'i/o' could and should rightfully be referred to as. More than twenty years in the making, the new Peter Gabriel album and the follow-up to 2002's 'Up' is finally out, having seen a new single being released once every full moon, since the beginning of the year. I am not a particular fan of having half of the album out before its official release date, but here eleven out of the twelve songs had been out before December 1, leaving the listener with just one new song to hear on release day. Thankfully, I did not follow the gradual "leaking" of the album throughout the year.

Musically, this is by all means a very Peter Gabriel-ish album, beautifully honed, carefully considered, brilliantly well played and unquestionably excellently composed. As one reviewer mentions how it "ebbs and flows beautifully" I could entirely agree. Sonically, it is definitely the continuation of 'Up', as one could mistake it for it but revisited 20 years later. That's a compliment! It is diverse, subtle, elegant, humorous, introspective, progressive, rich, mysterious - everything one could expect and want from a Peter Gabriel record! It has to be quite unnecessary to point out to some particular highlights, as every single track is in a way a highlight of its own, needless to say that each one of them comes together with a "personal" artwork, all of which are quite excellent, further giving indications that Gabriel's art goes far beyond the musical canvas, simulating what the Arts & Crafts movement used to refer to as a Gesamtkunstwerk.

An excellent release, one of the best of 2023 - it sounds fresh and modern, while bringing nothing new to Gabriel's musical table, intending this as a reference to his ever-expanding musical universe, not sticking to a particular genre or label, always allowing experimentation and innovation to penetrate his work entirely, depicting a lovely musical landscape, where you are taken on a journey.