Comeback on familiar ground

So much wait and expectations were surrounding this release by PG. After three incredible albums, I/O had a tough task.

Gabriel sure isn't out of ideas, starting with this delayed releasing system, one song per full moon, each one accompagned by a visual work by prominent artists. Though I think this single system did not help the immersion into this dense work, I like the also uncommon idea of having the album mixed two times as a default setting. This gives an idea of the density of Gabriel's composition.

One could have hoped for a more dramatic stylistic turn after the very dark UP, and it is true that PG stays on a ground he knows well, both in the sounds he uses and in the way he build his songs. However, I think he took major turns in some more discret points. The general message of the album is much more introspective, with songs like "and still", "playing for time" or "love can heal" being very emotional witouth the burst of tragedy that "Washing of the water" or "Here comes the flood" had. The more energetic works are also successes, "road to joy" or "olive tree" sounding more like the 80's or 90's Gabriel whereas "four kind of horses" and "Panopticom" are examples of a more concerned and enraged artist. Again, the score and the mixs are incredibly rich. No doubt that this is a very detailed work of art.

Although not a revolution, I/O is, I think, up to the herculean task of following SO, US and UP. That should say something.