Peter Gabriel Shares New Song ‘Put the Bucket Down’

With the arrival of another full moon, Peter Gabriel has shared his new song “Put the Bucket Down,” the second single off the singer’s upcoming LP o/i.

Like his previous album, 2023’s i/o, Gabriel is releasing a new song from o/i with every full moon during the course of 2026, culminating with the album’s release. 

“As a side project, I am working on a show with the brain as the central core and there are a number of songs, some on i/o and some on o\i that will be part of that. This is one of those and it’s a point in the narrative where we can both read and write thoughts and the person singing is not sure whether he has his own thoughts or not. Is he inside his own mind or inside someone else’s?,” Gabriel said of “Put the Bucket Down” in a statement.

The ‘bucket’ is all the crap that goes around our head all the time, so it is putting the bucket down to find your way forward… I started building rhythmic elements around, what I call, a lop-sided loop, and got quite excited. When we had the band play it, it really came to life so that feels good for me.”

Gabriel previously shared “Been Undone” from o/i, which — like its predecessor — will feature both a “Dark Side” and “Bright Side” version of the music. This “Put the Bucket Down” is the “Bright Side” mix by producer Mark “Spike” Stent, with the “Dark Side” version by producer Tchad Blake to follow at the next full moon.

“The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings,” Gabriel previously said of o/i in a statement. “I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it. We are sliding into a period of transition like no other, most likely triggered in three waves; AI, quantum computing and the brain computer interface. Artists have a role to look into the mists and, when they catch sight of something, to hold up a mirror. These are my lumpy bits –i/o: the inside has a new way out and o\i: the outside has a new way in.”