THE ENDLESS RIVER

What? Pink Floyd, the legendary band that any rock band cites as influence, releases a new album ? Well, actually not quite, as its content, made of leftovers of the sessions for 'The Division Bell' comes as a reminder that twenty years already passed since the publishing of what appeared to be the swansong of the most notorious representatives of space rock! 'The Endless River', which was planned to be named 'The Big Spliff' originally, aimed at being an album of ambient instumental music. The project fell into oblivion before resurfacing five years after the death of keyboardist Rick Wright. David Gilmour decided later on to add some vocal parts, mainly in the shape of choirs. That's it for the album background.

Let's focus now on the material recorded on this work. Next to ambient pieces full of glowing melodies, some pieces carry the typical Pink Floyd features. On the ambient side, "Things Left Unsaid", "Ebb And Flow" and "Night Light" highlight a spectral electro-acoustic guitar reminiscent of David Gilmour's good old friend Roy Harper. Further on, "Unsung" petrifies us with its solos sounding like whale cries. And we even mourn Rick Wright's death when the staggering beauty of "Calling" and "The Lost Art Of Conversation" fills our ears. On the other hand, "Autumn '68", with its breath-taking organ, leaves us speechless! Regarding the songs with a floydian flavour, we dive with "It's What We Do" in ethereal atmospheres, which, as the Harper-like guitar of the beautiful ambient introduction foreshadowed, echo the mythical "Shine On you Crazy Diamond"'. The same goes with "Surfacing", which features a pleading male choir. While the ballad "Anisina", with "torn apart" guitar solos, but also a serene Garbarek-like saxophone and a clarinet as dizzying as in a klezmer band, refers to "The Final Cut" in its orchestrations, "Talkin' Hawkin'" and "Louder Than Words" (the only song to feature lyrics) show a more optimistic side with their enthusiastic choirs. And regarding the two parts of "Allons-Y", they are strongly reminiscent of "Run Like Hell" in their hypnotic arrangements. Some more atypical tracks ("Sum", "Skins" and "Eyes To Pearls") infringe upon (future at the time) territories of Rick Wright's 'Broken China', with their tribal rhythms full of unparalleled elegance. Some listeners might see there a wink to "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" from the psychedelic era of the band. More surprising, a smooth-jazz facette of the trio is unveiled with the serene "On Noodle Street" and its discrete bluesy guitar.

Even if the whole sounds a bit like a collage of tracks recorded during various sessions, the elegance and the ethereal spirit of Pink Floyd are still there, without being spoiled by songs that would be made to fit radio standards. Lovers of ethereal music, be it rock or electronic, will find a lot to like in this work, that sounds like a vibrant tribute to Rick Wright, through the variety of keyboards.