Pink Floyd

“The Endless River”

Parlophone

Pink Floyd has always had a keen eye toward higher concept material. In that vein, “The Endless River” isn’t the kind of album that’s going to provide Floyd fans a lot of radio-ready moments. Instead, the album is broken up into four conceptually-distinct parts. All of the album’s tracks come from the studio sessions for 1994’s “The Division Bell,” meaning that there’s nothing genuinely new on the album. But drummer Nick Mason and front man David Gilmour have done a lot with what they had on hand. Gilmour’s arrangements ensure that “The Endless River” feels like a vintage-era Floyd album, and nothing from the ’94 sessions feels like a simple rehashing of what the band did 20 years ago. “The Endless River” is lush and full with a lot going on sonically. As a farewell album, it might leave some people wanting more, but it won’t be for a lack of effort. CV

No Good Deed

“Looking for a Mantra”

Independent

No Good Deed’s component members have been around the scene for a couple of decades. In a way, you could call the band a kind of “super group” of early-’90s Des Moines influences. The band’s recent release, “Looking for a Mantra,” exemplifies that idea. The album moves along at a good clip, dishing out track after track of down-home, Des Moines rock. Perhaps the best example is the fifth track, “Eulogy.” There’s nothing particularly daring or wildly inventive about the track, but it is well-constructed, catchy as hell and presented in a straightforward manner. Lead singer Rob Reeves and guitarist Doug Hansen drive No Good Deed’s sound with a classic combination of clean vocals and crunchy rock riffs. It might not be hipster-slick, but it’s definitely still cool. CV