ON AN ISLAND

Being a moderate fan of the first two solo Gilmour albums, I had lower expectations from this one, taking the age- related usual comfort zone of a 60-year old musician. I also didn't pay attention to the album appreciation by many Pink Floyd fans. And it paid off. Gilmour stays in the familiar territory, strips away the commercial aspirations and adds even more feeling and emotions than usual. The music is immersive, floating, mellow and introspective. There are several clever melodies and hooks. Combined with relaxed playing, you have no doubt in believing that Gilmour was in the fine shape and enjoyed the album creation. The first instrumental is a soaring instrumental which could be classified as semi-progressive, however the album gets into a more conventional territory after that, the best moments being with slow-tempo numbers, for me with the title track and "The Blue" in particular. This is a great album to listen to when you are alone, broken or it is getting dark. Gilmour's mature emotional playing is, in my mind, something that few prog-rock guitarists managed to achieve, exceptions being Steve Hackett and Andrew Latimer.