Preview: The Endless River by Pink Floyd

by Marley Andrews

Last night, my social media feeds were full with people talking about one thing. After more than two decades, Pink Floyd are launching a new album.

Entitled The Endless River, the album is a touching tribute to Rick Wright, their late keyboardist who sadly passed away in 2008. It consists of (previously) uncompleted instrumental tracks re-mastered and edited to give them a more ‘twenty-first century’ sound, with one track entitled “Louder Than Words” featuring lyrics written by guitarist David Gilmour’s wife.  Having grown up listening to Pink Floyd, and fallen in love with the psychedelic instrumentals of 1973 release The Dark Side of the Moon when I was young, I was really excited to see that a new album is on its way, especially as a tribute to the work of an incredibly talented pianist. As with a lot of Pink Floyd’s repertoire, vocals in the new album are limited which allows the music and sheer talent of the band to speak for itself without relying on a vocal line, and I am sure that this record will be no exception. 

To coincide with the album launch last night, various murals featuring the new album art were placed throughout various cities worldwide, including London, Paris and New York. The album cover, designed by Egyptian artist Ahmed Emad Eldin consists of a young man in open shirt punting across a sea of clouds towards the glow of the sun, and very aptly fits with the album title itself. Of course, Pink Floyd are known for their iconic album covers (most notably The Dark Side of the Moon), most of which were designed by the late Storm Thorgerson, but after his death last year, the band were left with the task of finding another artist who had the ability of continuing the band’s visual legacy. The cover itself is particularly striking and moving, and, as of last night, is shining down on billboards in many of the main global cities to make it very clear that Pink Floyd are indeed back.

The album features 18 tracks split over four sides, and includes material recorded around twenty years ago and developed in order to recognise and celebrate the contributions of Rick Wright to the sound and soul of the band. The Endless River is due to be released on November 10th and will be released in multiple forms. This is definitely one to look out for, as I have a feeling that it is going to be something very special and a fitting tribute to such an incredibly talented man and a huge inspiration of mine.