Some albums are worth clearing your diary for, and IO Earth’s third studio offering is one of them.
Over nearly 100 minutes of symphonic goodness, New World reminds us that taking time to climax is the key to pleasure. It’s their first studio release since 2012’s Moments and also the first to feature singer Linda Odinsen. Her luminous voice is a key asset, kicking off proceedings in wistful tones on Move As One, the perfect counterpoint to Dave Cureton’s aggressive guitar riffing on Redemption. Over two discs, Cureton and band offer genuine light and shade on a diverse work that’s all about loss of innocence and finding new possibilities in the early 21st century. Trance combines Eastern dance rhythms and cool jazz trumpet with a meditation on the destruction of 9⁄11. Fade To Grey captures all the group’s virtues in miniature: classical and folk mash‑ups, dramatic chord progressions and sax/guitar duels. There are moments of both utter beauty (The Rising) and death metal savagery. This isn’t simply about perfecting the established IO Earth sound: this is the album on which Adam Gough and Dave Cureton’s eclectic septet have found themselves. A new world of acclaim surely beckons.
