David Gilmour Rattle That Lock

David Gilmour’s latest solo album emerges nearly a decade after its predecessor, 2006’s On an Island, but the roots of Rattle That Lock go back even further. The piano intro on “A Boat Lies Waiting,” a poignant remembrance of late Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, was recorded nearly 20 years ago, and you can hear Gilmour’s then-baby son, Gabriel in its background. (The song also features vocals from David Crosby and Graham Nash.) Now 18, Gabriel contributes piano to “In Any Tongue,” one of the album’s most striking tracks, which also clocks in as one of its longest at nearly seven minutes and features a slow-burning solo from the elder Gilmour.

It’s one of several cuts showcasing the legendary Floyd guitarist’s signature clean tone and deliberate style, always a welcome addition to the Gilmour catalog. As an album, though, Rattle That Lock feels frustratingly uneven. Soaring instrumental “Beauty” seems stylistically out of place next to the smoky jazz of “The Girl in the Yellow Dress.” The way “Beauty” fades out in the midst of Gilmour’s solo feels abrupt. And the musical segues and sounds he typically employs with Pink Floyd and in his solo work aren’t present here, leaving things a bit haphazard and incomplete. There are good songs to be found, but they don’t sit well as a cohesive body of work.