The legendary rock band Pink Floyd has surely infiltrated in the lives of each and every one of us – be it by our own choice or simply by chance. “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II” or “Wish You Were Here” are some of the epic songs which we all know and instinctively start singing along to, even though we do not remember when we heard them for the first time. Their beginnings have by no means been modest – Pink Floyd is, after all, the most well-known rock band of all time – and their last album, The Endless River, which just came out on the 7th November, is no different.
The band formed by Waters (who later left), Gilmour, Mason and Wright (sadly, the latter passed away in 2008) has followed a sinuous path – the dynamics between the members has always been strange, but they managed to balance this situation with the creation of greatly influential and widely appreciated music. The Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall are two of the most well-known rock albums of all times – and some may consider that that is a tough act to follow up in itself. However, Gilmour and Mason, the last two members of Pink Floyd, decided to supersede themselves and create a new album.
Truth be told, it is not a completely new album, containing pieces of music which they wrote up to 20 years ago and often referencing former albums. However, The Endless River does contain some eerie-sounding music, Gilmour’s guitar playing as perfect as ever, but what it seems to be lacking is a concept – which was usually provided, as everybody knows, by Roger Waters. His absence is what seems to haunt the whole album, as lyrics are sparse and not very meaningful and a central theme seems to be missing. Gilmour argues that there is, indeed, a central theme to the album: the music’s continuity and slow build up. Whilst that may be true and their sound is still on point, the greatness of their prior albums which approached certain themes and exploited them to the point of making their listeners have revelations is clearly lacking.
All in all, the latest Pink Floyd album is dangerously close to being just another brick in the wall; it seems to be haunted by the echoes of their former work but looks into the past with a new, calmer perspective. Their cover art – always iconic for Pink Floyd – seems to suggest the same idea; The Endless River does offer some kind of closure, being that it is probably their final act, as Gilmour himself stated that “This is the last thing that’ll be out from us …” The overwhelming feeling that comes over a Pink Floyd fan when listening to it is, undoubtedly, nostalgia for the times when their albums were not only musically pleasing, but also conveyed a strong message.
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