By Madison Dymond ‘16

On November 11, classic rock band Pink Floyd released “The Endless River,” their first album since “The Division Bell” in 1994. Although this album, which the band has announced will be their last, is almost entirely instrumental, it’s unmistakably and completely Pink Floyd and it’s an ideal goodbye to the band’s extremely devoted fans.

Pink Floyd began in the early 60s with five original members, but with drama such as original vocalist and guitarist Syd Barrett’s mental instability caused by drug addiction, members came and went over the years. The biggest cause of drama in the band was various disagreements between later vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour and bassist, lyricist and vocalist Roger Waters that ended in Waters suing the band to prevent them from performing with the name “Pink Floyd.” Along with iconic bands such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd changed rock music and influenced many bands that followed. Through such albums as “The Wall” and “The Dark Side of the Moon,” Pink Floyd became one of the most famous rock bands of all time.

The band last performed live in 2005 at the conclusion of what would be their final world tour. In 2008, keyboardist Richard Wright died of cancer. Its remaining two members—Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason—struggled to create an album without him, but they very successfully produced “The Endless River” as a tribute to and a celebration of his immense talent, as well as the band’s goodbye to fans. The twelfth song on the album, “Autumn ’68,” features Wright’s organ playing.

Even with little vocals, the album has the psychedelic sound of the 70s that Pink Floyd was so well known for. The few lyrics on the album are about simple communication between humans, and what can be accomplished by it. Without being very complex, the lyrics seem to deliver a straightforward message to listeners. Although Gilmour only actually sang for one song on the album, his voice sounds almost as flawless and crisp as it did in the band’s earlier years.

The music ranges from melancholy soft rock to upbeat hard rock. Some songs on the album are made to parallel songs from other Pink Floyd albums—specifically “The Wall.” The music is not very original, but summarizes the best of Pink Floyd. This will very likely not be considered one of the band’s best albums, and it was not expected to be. It is still, however, a great finish.

The songs are short and flow together perfectly. This album may not be pleasing to all fans due to its lack of vocals, but it’s definitely worthy of their pleasure because, not only is it a sentimental thank you and goodbye from the almost 50-year-old band, but the instrumentation is just as incredibly Pink Floyd as it always has been.