Roger Waters' last studio album, 1992's Amused To Death, was a prescient study of popular culture, exploring the power of television in the era of the First Gulf War. This long-awaited follow-up, Is This The Life We Really Want ?, is an unflinching commentary on the modern world and uncertain times, and a natural successor to such classic Pink Floyd albums as Animals and The Wall.

Tracks on Is This The Life We Really Want ? include: "When We Were Young," "Déjà vu," "The Last Refugee," "Picture That," "Broken Bones," "The Life We Really Want," "A Bird In A Gale," "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," "Smell the Roses," "Wait For Her," "Oceans Apart," and "Part of Me Died." The lyrics for Wait for Her were written by Roger Waters and inspired by an English translation by an unknown author of "Lesson from the Kama Sutra (Wait for Her)," by Mahmoud Darwish.

The musicians on Is This The Life We Really Want? are: Roger Waters (vocals, acoustic, bass), Nigel Godrich (arrangement, sound collages, keyboards, guitar), Gus Seyffert (bass, guitar, keyboards), Jonathan Wilson (guitar, keyboards), Joey Waronker (drums), Roger Mannning (keyboards), Lee Pardini (keyboards) and Lucius (vocals) with Jessica Wolfe and Holly Proctor.