Is This the Life We Really Want?

AlbumMay 26 / 201712 songs, 54m 12s
Art Rock
Popular

From the record title to the snarled lyrics, Roger Waters is clearly not content. His sumptuous, languorous post-rock mixes through gruff interjections about the state of the world. Waters channels Pink Floyd’s greasy funk in “Smell the Roses” and even their sense of epic grandeur in “The Last Refugee,” given an immaculate buff by producer Nigel Godrich. He’s at his malevolent best playing the exasperated old coot, either taking on God’s mistakes in the stately “Déjà Vu” or cursing up a storm in “Broken Bones.”

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6.9 / 10

The Pink Floyd frontman teamed with producer Nigel Godrich for his new album. They don’t take many risks, but Roger Waters presents some of his most focused songs since the mid-’70s.

7 / 10

Our take on the latest from Pink Floyd's bard of bleak, 'Is This the Life We Really Want?'

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7 / 10

Roger Waters critiqued capitalism and the decay of society of his native England on Pink Floyd's Animals in 1977, a body of work whose his l...

(Columbia/Sony)

6 / 10

80 %

Holds its own when placed next to peak-era Floyd.

4.1 / 5

Roger Waters - Is This The Life We Really Want? review: A fiery indictment of modern affairs, and Waters' best solo album.

On his fourth solo album, the Floyd veteran remains gloomy but unbowed. CD review by Adam Sweeting