Peter Gabriel – Panopticom (Bright-Side Mix) Review

Sounding roughly similar to a start-up modem from the mid-2000s, Panopticom has an interesting beginning. Another track from the great Peter Gabriel, his elevator music opening for upcoming album i/o is a strange piece indeed. It soon finds form, as expected, but that introduction is amusing. Of course, it gives way to a solid track from Gabriel, his work here is very delicate and broad for a track that shares a name with that of circular prisons. That much is not lost on Gabriel, who notes the upbeat sentimentalities, and the circular prisons and marks a fine return to form that fans will no doubt have been clamouring for the return of. Panopticom is a sincere surprise, but it should be anything but. This is, after all, Peter Gabriel.

Industrial stylisations strike through this piece, it gives the modem tones of the beginning a bit of solid ground to work from. For those with a twisted enough mind cooled on the rocks of Smirnoff and Coke, traces of ABBA’s Angeleyes can be heard in those opening moments. For those not saddled with tinnitus and brain rot, that may be absent. Either way, Panopticom is a delightful track. This has been a long time coming. Two decades without an album release, and all of a sudden, Gabriel springs a sincerely strong post-industrial piece on audiences. It is not the usual clangs and clanks of the post-industrial era of music, but it does feature that in the background. Dark, factory-like explosions as Gabriel strikes through, his lyrics focused and noting “secret barriers” found in the cold surroundings.

Panopticom is anything but cold, though. Brian Eno’s touches and flourishes can be felt on this rather clearly. This is an unmatched collaboration between the former Genesis and Roxy Music men. Sincere this treat of a track may be, it is just a reminder that Gabriel has not lost his touch. His earliest works have always had some strangeness to them, some unique inspiration that manages to smooth over the cracks. His voice has not faltered, nor has his instrumental range or scope for projects like this. Panopticom is genuinely exciting stuff from an artist broadly known for Sledgehammer and leaving Genesis before they did We Can’t Dance. In both instances, good choices were made. But Panopticom feels far, far removed from the Sledgehammer, self-titled albums era. Eno’s influence on that change in pace and tone is extremely clear, and invaluable.

Considering how the form has shifted, and how a single to promote an album has changed in its effectiveness, Gabriel has masterminded a new way to shift his art. Panopticom is a sincerely exciting piece. It is not a firestarter, it is not going to implode and bring down the shift of art rock, but what it does is gives a real reason to get involved with Gabriel’s music and the upcoming album. Sultry, well-layered and blurring a real surprise of consistent quality to it, Panopticom is a delight. Make no mistake, this is not a return to form. This is just a return. There is something exciting about Panopticom that lingers on the mind long after it is finished. Clearly, a sign of something big. i/o is just on the horizon, after all.