At long last, we finally have our first chance to hear a new song from the first new Roger Waters album in over 25 years. Is This The Life We Really Want? will be released June 2, one week after the start of his Us+Them tour. The album was produced by Nigel Godrich, who is well known for his work with artists including Beck, U2, and especially Radiohead. On paper at least, Roger plus Nigel sounds like an exciting pairing.
But you probably won’t hear Radiohead when you listen to “Smell The Roses,” the first song to be released from the new album. In every way, it is a throwback to Animals era Pink Floyd.
I’m not sure how I feel about this track. I love the music from Animals more than The Wall. That being said, I wasn’t expecting Waters’ new music to be quite so derivative. It may be that the record company wanted to try to hook fans with a familiar sound on the first single, and that the rest of the album is more musically adventurous. Here’s hoping, at least.
Speaking of the rest of the album, here is the complete track list for Is This The Life We Really Want?:
01. When We Were Young
02. Déjà Vu
03. The Last Refugee
04. Picture That
05. Broken Bones
06. Is This the Life We Really Want?
07. Bird in a Gale
08. The Most Beautiful Girl
09. Smell the Roses
10. Wait for Her
11. Oceans Apart
12. Part of Me Died
