Peter Gabriel

it's like exactly the album he would have put out in 1997 or so

other things "road to joy" reminds me of: music from the spyro games, nine inch nails in a major key

"i'm afraid of americans"

There are a few songs on this album that definitely echo other Peter Gabriel records, or at least the last two. Again, probably because he reportedly started this one in 1995! As early as 2000 Gabriel was saying that "i/o" was supposed to be a quick follow-up to "Up."

Especially interesting because Up came out in 2002.

Yeah. People forget, Up came 10 years after Us, and people were complaining that *that* one was taking too long!

i think i slightly prefer the dark-side mixes but not enough to justify the gimmick.

I'm just glad he didn't release it as this:

https://www.stemplayer.com

wish it were a little weirder maybe, but this album is good! it's also poppier than I expected: I can remember many of the choruses after two listens

As fairly casual fan (I listened to So a lot when I was 8, and that’s about it) the songs here seem more interesting and accessible than anything else I’ve heard post-So

I’m not sure I get the “90s record” reference - it sounds more like a sheen-y 2010s album to me. It’s missing that “someone’s just heard NIN for the first time” vibe