Tonight, February 1, there was a full moon, the so-called snow moon, so Peter Gabriel has released a new single. ‘Put the Bucket Down’ is the second preview of their album ‘O\I’, whose release follows the year’s full moon calendar. The next one will be on March 3, and if Gabriel completes the schedule, his album could be available in its entirety on December 5, unless he has just the right songs to release before then.
As is known, Gabriel will publish two mixes of ‘O/I’, the “luminous” and the “dark.” The version available today is the light one, and the dark one can be heard starting February 17.
‘Put the Bucket Down’ is representative of the show that Gabriel is preparing, which will be based on the link between the brain and computers. The lyrics evoke images of “mind reading, thought reading, and thought writing,” all made possible “thanks to the brain/computer interface.” According to the press release, the protagonist of ‘O\I’ “is starting to feel very confused.”
According to the statement, the “bucket” alluded to in the title of ‘Put the Bucket Down’ represents “all the garbage that is constantly running through our heads, so it is about leaving the bucket on the ground to be able to find our way forward.”
The character in ‘Put the Bucket Down’ perceives “signals” moving “inside his head.” Musically, we are faced with another progressive composition in structure, based on a very marked groove, almost funk, and on a composition that is torn between spoken word and pop melody. ‘Put the Bucket Down’ also stands out for its use of trumpets, which definitely elevate the song, amazing, above all, as a work of sound architecture applied to pop.
