THE ENDLESS RIVER - REVIEW
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Things Left Unsaid is the first track of the album, leading in with dreamy harmonics and distorted speeches. There's an optimistic airiness to the music here - a soft, dream-like, almost meditative sound. I dare say it sounds almost like a relaxation tape played on loop in a spa; that sort of "music that isn't really musical" sound of soft synth and random, pleasant fades. There's no lyrics to speak of, just relaxing noise.
Up next, It's What We Do transitions seamlessly, keeping the same meditative sound but adding in a layer of organ and spacey sound that gives this track significantly more gravitas. Once the sounds of digital trumpets check in, we transition from spa music to a vaguely '80s "Miami Vice"-style sound, complete with a mournful-sounding electric guitar. This is a very self-reflective piece; the kind of thing you might see in a film scene where the protagonist wanders off to sort out his head and maybe dive into some heavy drinking.
Following is Ebb And Flow, which again transitions seamlessly into one coherent piece with the previous tracks. It immediately steps the energy down a level with soft chime sounds and mellowed guitar, but it still keeps a lot of the same backing vibe throughout. It's much shorter than the other two songs, and fades out nicely at the end to delineate the three initial tracks from the rest of the album.
Sum follows with an upbeat, peppy organ playing notes at a finger-breaking pace. Heavy electric guitar leans into a much more classic rock sound than previous entries. This sound hits hard - deep sustains and long grinding notes really drive home the rocking vibe of the song. Still very '80s, but with more of a "cyber roadhouse" vibe than a cheesier "Miami Vice" one, especially when the synthesizer picks up at the tail end.
Skins comes next, transitioning from Sum in a seamless yet still definitive way. There's lots more drumming on this track, giving it a significant boost in pep and energy comparatively. Electronic wailing over the drums makes this piece feel a whole lot more tribal, though the song kicks things back down once the electric guitar steps in and the tempo drops off to end things out.
Unsung leads in with deep piano and what sounds like digital violins, immediately setting the track apart from the others. It does a fine job conveying the musical theme established so far. It is however very brief at only a minute long; more of an interlude than a song, per se.
Following is Anisina, which jumps to a more traditional sound of pianos, acoustic guitar, and a steady backing beat. The occasional saxophone and electric guitar sting ground this track firmly in the '80s sound we're used to, albeit in a fairly generic and safe way. The saxophone in particular is a bit too saccharine, giving the whole song the sound of a sitcom title track rather than a serious rock song. Stormy sound effects come out of nowhere to taper the ending - classic PF.
The Lost Art of Conversation again holds the distinction of having that quintessential '80s sound of morose electric guitar and deep synthesizer sustains, though this one feels significantly more depressing than prior entries on the album. The piano meanders a bit, but ultimately sounds cohesive.
On Noodle Street is up next. It plays off the prior track well, but definitely shifts the tempo and rhythm to be its own thing. This track relies more on the organ (more likely a keyboard), but the guitar and drums do a fine job of keeping to the background and supporting the sound rather than pulling focus.
The next track, Night Light, kicks in with deep synthesizer sustains that lend it a more "sprawling" feeling that would honestly fit somewhere in the Blade Runner soundtrack. It creates that sort of quasi-futuristic dystopian sound that was pretty popular for the prog-rock at the time.
Alons-y jumps right in with some serious electric guitar; stuff that would be completely at place in PFs earlier seminal albums. it's fast-paced and upbeat, but still manages to thread the depressive sounds from earlier parts throughout in a finely-blended fashion.
Autumn '68 hits hard off the bat with dominating organ sounds that lends it an air of ominous religious overtones. It's far slower and much more introspective than its predecessor, but ultimately fits in with the rest as a sort of palate-cleansing intermission.
Alons-y (2) follows with typical electric guitar and a classic backbeat sound. Probably the most rock-and-roll track on the album so far, but not a heck of a lot to distinguish it otherwise.
The next track, Talkin' Hawkin, slows things right down with serious piano playing and more of that dreary, forlorn guitar work. A gospel-sounding choir at the forefront really drives the track up a few notches in terms of scale. There's a special guest appearance by Stephen Hawking's robotic voice in the middle, which turns the track's title literal and adds an air of otherworldliness to the song.
We go into Calling next, with sci-fi sound effects dusted off from PF's back catalogue. Heavy industrial sounds are accomplished via deep piano notes and stringy electronic discordancy. Mixing in some spacy sustains from a synthesizer gives this song a very distinct quasi-future sound, as does a distorted and distant-sounding electric guitar. Again, this track wouldn't be out of place in the soundtrack for a quintessential dystopian film like Blade Runner.
Eyes To Pearls comes next with a sort of steel acoustic guitar plucking that generates a deep-country feel while maintaining that post-apocalyptic vibe; it's a little more Mad Max than Blade Runner, but all the same feelings of pessimism are still there. This album does a fine job of blending different styles under one coherent thematic umbrella, and this song is a prime example of that effect in play.
Surfacing come next with the upbeat strums of acoustic guitar and a more optimistic synthesizer sound, befitting of the track's title. A pleasant choir of voices chanting non-lyrics really piles on to the climb that this track represents. The positivity can only be stretched so far though, and eventually the track fades out on a more neutral note in order to better dive into the next piece.
Louder Than Words kicks off soulful guitar plucking over soft piano, and eventually we see the appearance of actual lyricists in the album. Like the previous song, this one has a more upbeat nature compared to the rest of the album, even though at heart it still sustains the pervasive air of general sadness throughout, especially with the more serious singing. This song keeps bouncing between upbeat and downtrodden, and seems unable to pick a tonal lane (perhaps purposefully). However, because it's the longest track on the album, it has plenty of room to stretch its legs and bounce between vibes so that the song doesn't feel inconsistent.
Next is TBS9, jumps straight into the zany sci-fi sounds with its synthesizer work, but the guitar in the background entrenches the track firmly in the '80s (even though the album originates well after). It's a gentle song, perhaps a bit too gentle so as to make it somewhat sleepy. Not much to speak of with this one - it's not terribly catchy and barely even cohesive in a few ways.
TBS14 follows, and it's more or less the same as before - a steady beat, some morose guitar, some sustained keyboard/organ notes held throughout. The song feels a bit lazy, to be honest, like PF ran out of ideas and are just connecting notes that sound fine together. This all gets upended midway through the song though, as the tempo suddenly picks up and the guitar begins to feel more lively. A peppiness that the album had sorely lacked earlier suddenly jumps into the scene, and I can feel myself getting more into the hard-rock sound. It fades away leaving a pleasant taste in my mouth.
Lastly, Nervana kicks into gear right away, with heavy-chugging electric guitar and a hard-rocking sound. This song feels very out of place on the album, but honestly it's a welcome relief, as the rest was starting to put me to sleep. This is a song you can bob your head to, and a fine way to end the album on a high note. It feels a bit derivative and safe, but it's catchy nonetheless and has a fine guitar solo near the tail end. Still no sign of any lyrics though; I think this might have been the least lyrical album in the discography.
Overall: This is an album of inconsistencies, in both tonality and quality. Half the album are brief, sub-2-minute songs that serve more as connective tendons for larger pieces. There's no real singing to speak of, and the way that the music shifts tones between positive and negative almost gave me whiplash in some spots - at least, it would have had I been more invested. As it was, this album almost put me to sleep; it's especially relaxing at the start, and could almost be mistaken for the muzak at a day spa. The biggest gripe I have with this album (likely because of the lack of singing) is that it's mostly forgettable. The tracks were made to fit together as cohesive pieces, but as a result, there are almost none that stand out as special in any way - it's all just "more of the same". I was astounded to learn that this album was released in 2014, because it sounds exactly like something straight from the '80s, which means either PF was purposefully going for something retro, or their music never developed into modernity - I'd wager the latter. Definitely a step down for PF compared to their zenith, and a somewhat unfortunate note on which to end their careers.
Final Thoughts: I had hoped this exercise would get me more excited by PF; that in knowing their music, I could better appreciate their music. This was unfortunately not the case. At times I found myself dreading the next album to review, which is always a bad sign. PF may be loved by many, but I've come away from this experience feeling that their music was something of a slog rather than a fun experience. Now that I've heard what PF has to offer, I have no strong pull to revisit any of their albums (even their best works) - almost none of it gelled with me, which is a real shame because the band is considered one of the finest of all time but I just don't see it. Perhaps I just don't click with "prog rock" in general. Time to climb out of this hole, but I'll leave the ladder down there for any middle-aged hippies or nouveau-stoners who fall in. Thanks for keeping me company down here.
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