Labeling The Who’s bustling new album Endless Wire, the group’s first studio release in 24 years, as a “comeback” would be a mistake. In addition to having never gone anywhere, The Who move beyond the old technique of digging back to the golden years for inspiration. Instead, guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend and vocalist Roger Daltrey churn out wholly fresh material for this imperfect but eminently satisfying album. “Fragments,” the album’s reflective opener, features synthesizers straight out of “Baba O’Riley.” Cuts like “Mike Post Theme” and “Black Widow’s Eyes” would similarly fit snugly alongside the most raucous tracks from The Who’s 1973 project Quadrophenia. But that doesn’t explain a piece like “Trilby’s Piano,” an elegiac poem by Townshend powered by strings, unrecognizable in The Who cannon. That track and other surprises make up the 20-odd-minute “mini-opera” that closes the album, which Townshend and Daltrey plow through like they’re late for a gig. Considering their sprawling work ethic, they very well might have been. Grade: B+
— Dan Seliber, Muse Contributing Writer