i/o (Bright-Side Mix)

新録スタジオ・アルバムとしては約22年ぶりとなる新作アルバム

2023年1月6日、満月の夜にリリースされた"Panopticom"から続く、話題の月齢シングル群と新曲を収めた作品
20年以上の制作期間を経て、2002年の『Up』以来となるPeter Gabrielのオリジナルアルバム
12のトラックは、Mark'Spike'Stentが手を施したBright-Side Mix

■180g重量盤
■見開きジャケット

Peter Gabriel hid I/O, his first album in 21 years, in plain sight. Over the course of 2023, he released every one of its 12 songs as a single, each in two separate mixes (one "Bright," one "Dark"), and then toured the record -- all before its December release. A steady drip of singles didnt build anticipation for I/O -- many of the tracks didnt attract much chatter -- so much as get his audience accustomed to listening to new Peter Gabriel music again, allowing them to focus on a song at a time instead of immediately immersing themselves in an album that has its own intricate clockwork. Gabriel took his time crafting I/O, so listening to it slowly and steadily lets the record unfold and lets the distance between the decades narrow. In many ways, I/O picks up where Up ended, sounding a bit like a relic from the height of the CD era when albums were crafted as a long, continuous experience showcasing the outer limits of high-end audio. It also follows a recognizable template, balancing its innate moodiness with a few sprightly numbers that relieve the tension -- a blueprint thats been in place since So. The familiar approach helps illuminate how I/O does mark an emotional progression, finding Gabriel curiously optimistic as he searches for new beginnings, discovering glimmers of hope within the darkness. This shift isnt merely evident in the "Bright Side" mix, either. Theres an inherent openness to the songs Gabriel completed for I/O, a spirit evident in such titles as "Road to Joy," "Love Can Heal," "This Is Home," and "Live and Let Live." Some of these songs surge, some simmer, but they all return to an idea essayed on the title track: "stuff coming out, stuff going in/Im just a part of everything," a worldview thats intimate and all-encompassing. What makes I/O unique, even special, is that the process of searching isnt central to the finished product. Theres no restlessness here, only acceptance, a quality that gives I/O a quiet power that cant help but build over time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

2023年1月から満月が来るごとに発表してきた楽曲をまとめた21年ぶりのアルバム。重厚にして緻密なサウンド・プロダクション、それに裏打ちされたスケール感に触れれば誰もが〈これぞ彼の音楽だ〉と呟くだろうが、エネルギッシュな高揚感に満ちた表題曲をはじめ、成熟と若さの二重性のダイナミクスが作品全体に新たな息吹を与えている事実に気付くはず。相当な傑作。
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