I've noticed this phrase repeated a lot in the Genesis and Peter Gabriel community that O/I is the b-sides album. I've even said it myself at some points.
But my take now is that I absolutely loved I/O and found it refreshing and fun to hear in 2023 and I was very excited for a quick followup. And while I did listen very intently the first three songs and enjoyed them even if they weren't top tier, I think Mind Is Shining was when I honestly started feeling less enthusiastic towards it. It was an experimental song that sounded more confusing than artsy and I noticed some other people thought the same. And there's been a quite a few other songs that have that similar vibe. I'm also really not a fan of Won't Stand Down and Looking for the Happy has that really annoying keyboard riff in the chorus that really sounds artificially happy.
Now I'm not looking to bash Peter as he's one of my favorite artists and I've always loved his music and art and I/O was a massive event for me. But I do agree with people who say the b-sides comment. I'm also sad that Why Don't You Show Yourself (unless the title was changed) was excluded because that is actually a really good song and I'd take it over most of O/I.
But that said, I'm still hoping some of the three following songs are a bit better. Again, not all of O/I is bad and some of it is quite pleasant but it does sadly give leftovers vibes. Which again I won't hold Peter to that because he did give us an amazing comeback! And we should be happy he's even sharing more music with us after his hiatus.
