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Summer 2008 We've just finished playing a few shows which were ace. Big kisses to Death of London, Shapes, maybeshewill and ASIWYFA and everyone who came to the noise fests. It also means that Tom has left us again, but hot damn, we have a new bass player, Chris (also of fall the rise). He has a big coat. We're finishing a couple of new songs so we'll be playing again later in the winter. Also, 2 new demos and 2 remixes will be available for free download soon. xx

"What was lost in the fire, and why was it started? You won’t find any literal answers in IO’s post rock, but you can use your imagination. Like fellow genre exponents Explosions in the Sky and 65daysofstatic, this Birmingham quartet create emotional instrumentals labelled by enigmatic song titles, and their debut four-track EP seems to tell a mad sci-fi story. Opening cut ’Dr Doom’ repeats foreboding refrains, ’We have destroyed the robot professor’ is euphoric with a dark undercurrent, ’And this is our victory dance’ doesn’t sound happy, while ’Girl-on-Girl’ switches between meandering and fretful before grinding to a squealing halt. A ’choose your own adventure’ book for audiophiles " 8/10 <I>Rocksound magazine, November 2007</I> "What came next, however, was so spectacular and powerful it could have soundtracked the moon’s conversion from a glowing, white golf ball into a fearsome, reddish planet. io’s brand of post-rock manages to meld Explosions in the Sky’s melodic, delicate guitars with Isis’ metal sensibility resulting in an explosive, spine-tingling set which blew the crowd away". <I>Sandman Magazine, March 2007 </I> "Storming out of the underrated Brum scene come IO, a band with the promise of becoming just as big as their namesake. Fans of previous bands kNilt and State Of Serenity may be somewhat surprised by this new outfit; rather than heavier US hardcore of these bands, Isis and Pelican are the most obvious names to drop, though across the four tracks showcased on their new EP you can discern moments of Tool, Grade (’Dr Doom’) and hints of Scottish indie rock (’And This Is Our Victory Dance’) all threaded into their by turns sublime, contemplative, and explosive epic noise . It’s an impressive showing from a technically competent group, if one that feels a little self-conscious at times. It’s a small complaint though – in time, these boys should be spreading their wings and taking their place amongst the, erm, stars." 4/5 <I>Rockmidgets.com, October 2007 </I> "IO are a post metal math rock time bomb. Just as you’re settling down to some ambient guitar noodling they whack 7 shades of shit out of their instruments. It’s like a war up there. Flailing limbs, mortar fire, Jeremy Bowen in a flack jacket, that women with the eye patch...guitars were invented for this kind of stuff." <I>The Hearing Aid</I> "IO have a wonderful way of making post-rock's regular ingredients consistently appetising." <I>Moderate Rock, July 2008</I> "Like a group of pylons scattered around the city to provide its citizens with electricity, IO serves as a breath of fresh air for post rock fans. "Monolith" is dazzling from the very first glance. Their material seems to be well organized, with a clear and cogent composition. It is undoubtedly a monolith, cohesive enough to face any criticism. Their tunes are set somewhere in-between the shores of post rock and post metal. Over 40 minutes of clear, distinctive, emotionally-embroidered sound sets one’s thoughts way above clouds. At first, Dr Doom, which is IO’s one of the most important tracks. This pleasant tune makes the listener more curious, keeps him in suspense, progressing slowly to go off. It is set off, yet not letting the one who’s listening come back from his journey. Where we’re going we don’t need roads is, beyond doubt, the best song to be found on ’Monolith’. It shows that IO is on its way to have something important to leave behind. It also proves that IO has the potential to compete with bands which account for the highest ranks. It is the quality that matters, especially that this kind of music is appreciated and praised for its value. IO contributes to this belief by releasing ’Monolith’, an album which is like a glow of the evening sky." <I>www.myspace.com/postreviews, Febuary 2008</I> ’With blistering guitars and epic soundscapes instrumentalists IO destroy the boundaries between Post Rock and Experimental’ <I>Club Semantics, March 2007 </I> "Itwaslostinthefirewestarted is an interesting culmination of various instrumental styles that are well expressed throughout the twenty-minute affair....IO definitely deserve more recognition" <I>Silent Ballet, October 2007</I> "Io est un jeune quartet d’outre-manchots allaités aux plus torrentielles cascades électriques de leurs aînés Mogwai. Io distillent leur came par les bonnes grâces d’Arghh! Records, label d’ici qui a saisi l’intérêt pragmatique de l’outil myspace – jusqu’à renoncer à avoir son propre site Internet – et n’a pas peur d’internationaliser son catalogue (on l’a vu avec Hadoken). Io n’est pas un groupe vache (désolé je ne savais pas comment placer la référence mythologique…), sauf peut-être par son modus operandi, qui est celui d’une transhumance en rangs serrés et infendables vers les estives ouvertes au ciel de son post-rock virevoltant et oxygéné. Comme beaucoup de leurs contemporains, Io travaillent leurs guitares sur une enclume progressive pour en tirer une forme de quintessence sonique à base d’accords courts et précis, imbriqués en habiles meccanos dont la structure s'allonge et grimpe en densité vers la nécessaire délivrance orgasmique de la palissade rugissante. Ces dernières ne font d’ailleurs pas dans la demi-mesure, mais plutôt dans le gros coup de corne qui vous embosse une cuirasse à chaud. Non sans un côté nerveux à la Capricorns, pour rester dans l’insulaire. Le contraste tient en alerte. On ne peut que s’en féliciter. Comme (trop) peu de leurs contemporains, Io ne sont pas des orfèvres calfeutrés au chevet de leur musique et ne se réfugient jamais dans la contemplation plus de temps qu’il n’en faut pour installer une ambiance. Leur post-rock a ce côté nomade et généreux qui colle aux escapades dominicales à la boussole. Une haleine étonnamment tonique et chargée d’espoir candide, qui fait oublier sans problème qu’on a pas encore affaire aux magiciens qu'appelle le genre pour se renouveler en profondeur, que les riffs porte-couilles sont tout juste plus nuancés qu’une pelle excavatrice Caterpillar, et que Monolith arrive quatre ans trop tard pour pousser Australasia dans les orties et prendre la place de Pelican chez HydraHead." <I>Eklektik Webzine, June 2008</I> "Io est un groupe de post-rock nous venant de la perfide albion. Ce jeune quartet de Birmingham s'est vu accueillir sous la bannière d'un sympathique label de chez nous Arghh! Records qui nous avait gratifié de l'excellent premier album de Mothertrucker l'an dernier. On retrouve donc chez Io, tout comme chez Mothertrucker d'ailleurs, un goût prononcé pour les structures progressives ascillant entre dynamisme et passages calmes. Un mélange propre à tout groupe de post-rock qui se respecte me direz-vous, pourtant Io a son mot à dire! Evoquant les noms de, forcément, Explosions In The Sky ("We Destroyed The Robot Professor") ou de Mogwai pour la richesse des émotions naissant de ces passages éthérés, on se surprend aussi à découvrir un certain côté agressif dans leur musique. En effet, le groupe n'hésite pas à faire jouer la distortion quand il le souhaite, explorant ainsi une voie plus postcore dans la veine d'un Isis, voire d'un Tool ("Dr. Doom" par exemple) créant une paradoxale sensation limite chaotique au milieu de cette plénitude. De riffs délicats en explosions (dans le ciel) de guitares en passant par des arrangements envoûtants ("And This Is Our Victory Dance"), Io livre un premier album de post-rock céleste, inventif et épique. De quoi satisfaire les amateurs de musiques à ambiances pour planer, ce "Monolith" est de la très bonne came pour eux!" 8/10 <I>Pogoslam, July 2008</I> "Sulla giostra che gira senza sosta della musica strumentale é il turno degli Io, quartetto inglese a proprio agio con atmosfere epiche sporcate da deragliamenti metallici. Non ci troviamo dinanzi all..ennesimo clone riuscito male degli Isis bensí constatiamo una certa dimistichezza nel fondere le piú disparate influenze, confezionando quattro tracce abbastanza versatili. Nei ventisei minuti complessivi passiamo dalla calma apparente di “Dr Doom” ai vibranti fendenti sonori di “We Have Destroyed the Robot Professor”, gli ondeggianti cambi di umore di “And This Is Our Victory Dance”, dove i quattro musicisti esibiscono una struttura melodica sognante affiancata da una concretezza sorprendente, concludendo l..opera con “Girl on Girl”, il brano piú aggressivo del lotto, un fiume in piena pronto a travolgere le ultime resistenze dell..ascoltatore. Senza mai cadere nella banalitá e sfruttando tramature sonore piuttosto ricercate, gli Io possono essere piú che soddisfatto di un esordio che lascia presagire ottime cose per il futuro." 7/10 <I>Kronic Mag, December 2007</I>