Why Pink Floyd’s ‘The Endless River’ Is Exactly What Fans Needed To Hear

In some ways, Pink Floyd’s The Endless River is exactly what most Floyd fans needed to hear after so long: an album to both reminisce and find closure.

After all, it all sounds very familiar, from the barely there intro and slow fillers to the piano ballads and synths that echo much of their past work. But on the other hand, it also sounds like an album of leftovers – there’s less flow and some of the tracks, including the dramatic “Unsung” and the minimal “On Noodle Street”, sound almost incomplete.

The album was meant to accompany 1994’s The Division Bell, and most of the tracks were recorded during studio sessions that took place 20 years ago. And the references are everywhere, from the title, a nod to a line of Bell’s final track “High Hopes”, to “Talkin’ Hawkin’”, the follow-up to “Keep Talking” from the ’94 album, both of which feature the synthesized speaking voice of physicist Stephen Hawking.

But its release now serves two purposes: as a tribute to keyboardist Richard Wright, who passed away a few years ago, and a closing to their groundbreaking and genre-changing 50-year career.

The entire album is instrumental apart from final track “Louder Than Words”, written by David Gilmour and wife Polly Samson:

But my personal favorites are both parts of “Allons-Y”, tracks that would have fit right into any other Floyd record and been right at home mid-The Wall, and between which lays the pipe organ-heavy and equally fantastic “August ‘68”.

If you’re a casual listener, you can skip this one altogether and stick to the classics. But if Pink Floyd’s work represents a chunk of your personal soundtrack, this feels like a gift.

WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss Yumna’s last For the Record, here.