I.O.
"these dreams are too big to hide and too doable not to do"
exclusive song premiere
exclusive song premiere
For fans of: Hella, Pretend, Tera Melos, Storm and Stress, Mount Eerie’s wordier albums, Touche Amore, Postmodern Poetry, Cryptic Personal Substacks, and Walter Benjamin
cassette orders open May 15th, 2026
I have a lot of luck. First, I was lucky enough to play with I.O. at the first Wollruss show a few years back and it was like a religious experience. After building up enough courage to ask Maxwell Patterson if he wanted to be in a band with me, I was lucky enough to have him say yes (we play in Wollruss together now). Fast-forward to a month ago and he lets me know he just finished his new album and asked if I wanted to help release it on cassette. Now I'm also doing a song premiere on my blog. I really do hope luck is the residue of design, cuz if so I'm doin' a helluva job lol
On the cusp of I.O.'s new album 'The Beatniks Couldn’t Save The World', I'm proud as hell to give you the second of six songs titled "these dreams are too big to hide and too doable not to do". It's a jazzy drum rampage through a gorgeous and lush wordscape that brings to mind Hella, Tera Melos, La Dispute, and even Touche Amore. Here are a few notes:
'The Beatniks Couldn’t Save The World'
a screamo opera by i.o
it’s about the reformation and reclamation of memories transfigured into something supernatural
'The Beatniks Couldn’t Save The World' is the first vocal record by noise-rock drummer virtuoso I.O since 2023 and his first joined by long-time part-time live vocalist JP Meldrum.
'The Beatniks Couldn’t Save The World' is what Maxwell and JP call a “freemo” record - an obscure portmanteau of screamo and free improvisation overheard while on tour in Europe. That, or a "screamo opera". Max and JP connected nearly ten years ago as two of Victoria BC’s most idiosyncratic experimental musicians known for their proliferation, in adherence to genre, and seamless ability to improvise in a no-rehearsal noise-rock context. Yet, the riffs and lyrics on TBCSTW are carefully crafted, cryptic poems that harken to the beautiful post-rock/emo melodies of Pretend and the sardonic verses of Leonard Cohen by-way-of Circa Survive melodrama that find light inside the manic preacher delivery of JP and the iconic virtuoso chaos of Max’s drumming.
This is Maxwell Patterson’s 212th album and JP Meldrum’s 53rd. Between the two, they have collaborated with members of N3VEL, Loving, Hillsboro, Teen Suicide, Shake the Baby Til the Love Comes Out and solo acts like Colin Fischer and Dis Fig. They also play in the band Really Loud Free Jazz together.
'The Beatniks Couldn’t Save The World' was mixed, mastered, engineered and produced by Cody Baresich. The album art is by Robert Voyvodic.
(2026) I.O. "these dreams are too big to hide and too doable not to do" (from 'The Beatniks Couldn't Save The World')
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