Hard to believe it was 1994, in the midst of the Britpop maelstrom, that Pink Floyd delivered their last studio album, The Division Bell. Hopes of a permanent reunion following their Live 8 appearance with Roger Waters came to nothing and so Dave Gilmore and Nick Mason – the only remaining members – have returned to those early ‘90s sessions for the long-awaited follow-up. A tribute to the band’s late keyboardist, Rick Wright, the first thing to say about The Endless River is that it is almost entirely instrumental, with just one “song” proper.
Arranged over four “sides” to recreate the flow of a double LP, it includes all of the classic Pink Floyd elements – soaring melodies, fragmented pieces, mixed-up tempos and intergalactic experimentalism. The album opens with a collage of ominous sounds and textures, disembodied voices, strings and sundry other aural effects, followed by processed acoustic guitar doodling, floor-shaking bass (courtesy of Guy Pratt) and a slow, heartbeat rhythm. ‘It’s What We Do’ is instantly familiar, with Gilmour’s distinctive Stratocaster to the fore, over sinewy bass and pounding drums. Elsewhere,‘Ebb And Flow’ offers spacey, acoustic guitars, while the brooding atmospheric ballad, ‘Unsung’, boasts a lovely piano melody, massed choral voices high in the background and a sax solo that recalls Dark Side Of The Moon’s ‘Us And Them’. Side 3 is the most satisfying and includes the more intimate, almost bluesy, ‘On Noodle Street’, the church-like ‘Autumn ‘68’ and the melodically rich ‘Talkin Hawkin’, with a cameo from Stephen Hawking and his “electronic” voice.
Closing track ‘Louder Than Words’, with lyrics by Gilmore’s wife, novelist Polly Samson, is a highlight. An epic, mid-tempo ballad with a strong vocal from Gilmore, intricate piano lines and a spellbinding guitar solo, it soars into the stratosphere, rounding off what is a welcome addition to the Floyd catalogue.
Out now.