triadabs.blogg.se

Set against the final line of the stanza – “Mistress Liberty, how we abandoned thee!” – it feels more like the laments of a founding father who returned to find a once hopeful and promising nation festering in self-wrought carnage. The subsequent ‘Broken Bones’ marks a return to the softer, more reflective aura with which the album began Waters sets something of an abstract tone – “Sometimes I stare at the night sky, see all them stars a billion light years away / And it makes me feel small like a bug on the wall / Who gives a shit anyway, who gives a shit anyway” – before offering a glimpse of what could have been, if only we’d learned from history: “When World War II was over…the slate was never wiped clean / We could have been free, but we chose to adhere to abundance – we chose The American Dream.”. Spanning nearly seven minutes, it ushers in Is This The Life We Really Want?’s greatest stretch – both musically and lyrically.

It feels like a track accidentally left off of The Wall, which is among the heftiest compliments that can be paid. €˜Picture That’ feels like the album’s pulse, arriving with a sinister-sounding rhythm that only strengthens as Waters gradually lets his pent up rage out, spitting dark imagery that culminates in the above passage. Picture a shithouse with no fucking drains Picture a cathouse with no fucking whores Picture a courthouse with no fucking laws It doesn’t take long from there for him to dive right into the dark, cynical reflections that make up the heart of the record. The music stands in stark contrast to the lyrics though, which lament everything from God ( “If I had been God, I would’ve sired many sons / And I would not have suffered the Romans to kill even one of them”) to drone strikes ( “If I were a drone, I would be afraid to find someone home / Maybe a woman at a stove”) – a common dichotomy present in Waters’ music. ‘Déja Vu’ washes in at track number two – following a brief sound clip interlude – like a cool breeze, feeling like a weathered ‘Wish You Were Here’ that boasts the same beautiful acoustic guitar work, subtle piano undertones, and Waters’ impassioned, swaying vocals. The record hinges on its lyrics more than any other musical aspect, taking protest poetry and setting it to Waters’ trademark brand of cynicism, as well as the most Pink Floyd-reminiscent sound of his solo repertoire. The politics of Is This The Life We Really Want? are unavoidable because they’re the driving force behind the entire composition. Not that Waters has ever been shy in that regard, but even Amused to Death’s most biting sarcasm can’t hold a candle to the Waters of 2017, in a time where luxuries such as subtlety are no longer affordable.

As circumstances would have it however, it seems that the current state of society has stirred him – and Is This The Life We Really Want? is the sound of a man in his seventies who isn’t afraid to say exactly what’s on his mind. After twenty five years of relative absence dating back to 1992’s Amused to Death, it was not entirely certain that we’d ever hear from the Pink Floyd legend in any sort of meaningful way again. Roger Waters is back and angrier than ever. Review Summary: A fiery indictment of modern affairs, and Waters' best solo album.