‘The Endless River’: A Track-By-Track Guide To Pink Floyd’s Final Album

It’s What We Do

Recalling the serenity-filled sprawl of Wish You Were Here’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond, It’s What We Do flows upon a tide of gorgeously familiar Pink Floyd motifs. A blissful instrumental set to a drum groove from Mason, the song features a Gilmour guitar solo that laps delicately around Wright’s keyboard tones to create a deeply immersive pool of sound that swells like free-flowing water.

Ebb And Flow

Conveying the stillness of a calm waterway at twilight, Ebb And Flow concludes the first movement of The Endless River with Gilmour’s crystalline guitar phrases and Wright’s melancholic electric piano flourishes. Among songs that blend seamlessly together in tribute to the passing of the late keyboardist, Ebb And Flow touches upon the riverbank of the hereafter to once again channel the band’s musical kinship.

Sum

Rushing us into choppier instrumental waters, Sum opens the second movement of The Endless River with rippling VCS 3 synths before launching us into a river rapid of near-psychedelic textures. With Wright’s Farfisa organ frothing like waves against the rocks of Mason’s portentous drumming, Gilmour’s lap steel guitar whips up a whirlpool of tumultuous noise, taking us to the edge of a sonic waterfall…

Skins

Driven by Mason’s tumbling fills, Skins plunges us over the precipice amid a cascade of rototoms that recalls the chaotic frenzy of the drummer’s avant-garde percussion work on 1968’s A Saucerful Of Secrets. Gilmour’s squalling guitar tones imbue this watery descent with doom-laden gravitas, before the evocative instrumental number quietly recedes into a plunge pool of calm synth effects.

Unsung

Following the drama of Skins, Unsung finds us momentarily submerged. Flowing by at speed, the elusive swells of Wright’s Farfisa organ reverberate in our ears while Gilmour’s whale-like pedal guitar evokes the eerie dwelling of an aquatic underworld. As Pink Floyd slowly raise us back to the surface, we’re left gasping for air…

Anisina

A serene piano instrumental, Anisina floats down a rivulet of pure bliss. Having faced the river’s wrath, Gilad Atzmon’s saxophone solo merges with Gilmour’s fathomless guitar work to beautifully convey the endurance of the human spirit. As this cathartic tribute to Wright gives The Endless River’s second movement emotional closure, we’re at nature’s mercy once again.

The Lost Art Of Communication

As the third movement of The Endless River gets underway, Gilmour’s blues-tinged guitar notes take us downstream, with Wright’s piano melodies rising like mist upon the water. This slow-moving instrumental, set to floating synth pads, finds Pink Floyd at their most tranquil and reflective.

On Noodle Street

With a light, jazzy vibe rolling along to Mason’s restrained drumming and Gilmour’s reverb-laden guitar, On Noodle Street pairs Wright’s mellow keyboard trills with an undulating bass groove, as we peacefully travel down another meditative tributary of The Endless River.

Night Light

The nocturnal instrumental Night Light belies its improvisational origins with an ode to moonlight, Gilmour’s EBow glimmering across Wright’s synths like stars shining upon the water’s surface. Luxuriating in the lunar glow, Pink Floyd’s mastery of cosmic ambience is undeniably evocative as dusk turns to dawn.

Allons-y (1)

As if marking the birth of a new day, Allons-y (1) is a propulsive guitar instrumental that keeps pace with the river’s quickening stream. With Gilmour’s guitar offering speckles of sunlight across the surface, Mason’s fast-moving drum rhythm splashes against Wright’s glistening organ tones as we are once more propelled around the riverbend.

Autumn ’68

There’s a palpable sense of religiosity to Autumn ’68. Originally recorded on pipe organ by Wright at the Royal Albert Hall more than 40 years before his death, this ghostly, church-like instrumental bridges Pink Floyd’s past and present eras by inviting Gilmour and Mason to reach beyond the spiritual veil to reconnect with their lost friend.

Allons-y (2)

After the funereal communion of Autumn ’68, Allons-y (2) picks up the pace once again. Like the unbroken current of a river, Mason’s steady drum groove keeps the momentum moving, while Gilmour’s lively guitar lines spill into the floodplains.

Talkin’ Hawkin’

A sequel of sorts to Keep Talking, from Pink Floyd’s 1994 album, The Division Bell, Talkin’ Hawkin’ finds physicist Stephen Hawking returning to act as a guiding beacon on this thought-provoking instrumental, which closes The Endless River’s third movement. With words that extol the value of human communication, Talkin’ Hawkin’ finds Pink Floyd continuing their onward drift as they search for answers, with Wright’s plaintive piano and Gilmour’s lap steel guitar interweaving like two streams from either side of the astral plane.

Calling

Introducing The Endless River’s fourth and final movement, Calling is a dark and moody instrumental whose unsettling synths pull like an otherworldly undertow. With a hallucinatory and almost feverish air, this is the sound of Pink Floyd staring into the murky abyss and returning with a bleak but affecting meditation on the nature of grief.

Eyes To Pearls

Eyes To Pearls floats along to a haunting acoustic guitar riff that roils like a rip current. Mason’s reverse cymbal effects and booming drum rolls echo with a grim sense of foreboding, as if Pink Floyd are steering us towards the river mouth and preparing to take us out to sea.

Surfacing

Symbolising the point where The Endless River meets the ocean, Surfacing is a resplendent instrumental that takes us to the brink of spiritual ascendancy. With airy guitar work from Gilmour and fluttering synths that spread out like the wings of a waterfowl, the song’s rising melodies take flight with a sound that enfolds us in a warm embrace as we venture into the great beyond.

Louder Than Words

Not The Endless River’s end point but also a lyrical encapsulation of Pink Floyd’s decades-long journey, Louder Than Words finds the group hanging up their oars in suitably poetic fashion. Imbued with the soul of Richard Wright, the track soars high above the clouds, just like the gondolier on the album’s cover.

A fitting send-off for a legendary band who have always taken listeners on sonic voyages well beyond their imagining, The Endless River is a work of mystical tone poetry that still lingers as Pink Floyd’s poignant farewell.

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