Pink Floyd – Lost for Words Review 

What begins as a chance to cool off the fractured relationship between Roger Waters and David Gilmour becomes a gutting, cynically written piece of work. More power to Polly Samson for writing those feelings down. It’s a masterstroke from her and Gilmour sings it well through Lost for Words, a song from The Division Bell. Waters may not think much of this album or A Momentary Lapse of Reason, but that may be because of the lyrical focus. Pink Floyd were not a hits-only collective in the nine years Gilmour fronted the group. He was not just a serviceable frontman but an instrumental gift to the band who could create without the help of the creative force behind The Wall. Gilmour shifted the band more into theory than thought, with the rage simmering still but focused on individuals rather than concepts. Lost for Words is as clear a shot at Waters as anything written by Gilmour. Not even releasing his solo albums on the bassist’s birthday is as big a gut punch as The Division Bell single.  

A Momentary Lapse of Reason was a chance to hear what the band would do without Waters. The Division Bell is what they wanted to do with him. But that chance had long passed. There is a moody atmosphere, a telling drum section and synth rise which would have suited the prime years of Pink Floyd. It’s a credit to Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright that the song, and album too, come together as well as it does. Lost for Words is one of those tracks defended half-heartedly by its creators as a song pertaining to different themes. It could not be clearer what the intent is, but then the fact it has a few other points of interest is a credit to Samson. A “cauldron of hate” is the nicest description of making The Final Cut offered. Gilmour speaks these words into life, a softer vocal line and a slower tempo adds to this feeling, this clear call out of Waters.  

Resentment is a cruel and fragile piece. Listeners will have heard this all before, be it between John Lennon and Paul McCartney or recently with Kendrick Lamar and Drake. There was a clear winner in the latter feud, though the McCartney and Lennon back-and-forth, as well as this from Gilmour and Waters, is a little unclear. Placing boxing commentary that suggests Gilmour has delivered a knockout blow in is a bold move, but it lingers as one of the most brilliantly bloodthirsty studio choices the veteran guitarist has made. Pair that with some spirited and seemingly upbeat acoustic work and it feels like Lost for Words is both a damnation and a tongue-in-cheek piece. It’s an appropriate style to offer on a song which is seemingly licking the wounds Waters left on the band nearly a decade after he departed.  

But those lashings cut deep and led to some of the best post-Waters work from Pink Floyd. He arguably inspired the group’s strongest work by leaving them in such a state. He may regret it now, but when Lost for Words released, there was no suggestion of cooler heads prevailing in the warring factions. Lost for Words is not just an exceptional piece of work but a brilliant summary of how Gilmour, and by extension Samson and the rest of Pink Floyd, were feeling about the departure of the well-respected frontman. The Division Bell would prove to be the last proper Pink Floyd album, and Lost for Words is an exceptionally bitter but beautiful send-off to the classic line-up. With such venom and sarcasm in the lyrics, that stripped-back tone works. Gilmour, quite literally, throws off the shackles. You can hear them crash to the floor as he makes his way out of the doldrums. Frankly incredible work from those latter days of Pink Floyd.