Neal Morse Band (NMB) return after a four-and-a-half-year gap with another album of majestic prog, one which exceeds the sum total of all its moving parts. For many bands, a lengthy hiatus between albums can be a daunting prospect, but the fact these five guys have played together for as long as they have, plus every musician in the band being a very accomplished player, means the gap hasn’t put any crimp in their creative chemistry or their ability to play some quite complicated music. And they can all sing.
The album was recorded under considerable time constraints as Mike Portnoy was now back in the saddle with Dream Theater, but he found a window of time to record his contribution, with the rest of the band able to record around his touring schedule. That NMB were also able to record a new album with no hint one was on the horizon was remarkable.
L.I.F.T. “can mean anything you want,” says Morse. It was mostly written “in the room,” mainly because of time constraints, and it’s difficult to pick out any real highlights as the entire album, all thirteen tracks, is sheer delight with some absolutely stellar playing from all concerned, particularly from guitar man Eric Gillette on tracks like ‘Gravity’s Grip’ and ‘Reaching’. There are plenty of great melodies alongside some fine harmonies. Few bands can boast four front line vocalists. L.I.F.T. is that dreaded term, a “concept album,” following the journey of “someone seeking to belong to something bigger than themselves.” If you know Neal Morse, you’ll know what the “something” is because his lyrics often reflect his deep belief in Christianity, which is never far below the surface, and has led to accusations of preachiness. While there are religious references right across the album, they’re hardly preachy.
Opening track ‘Beginning’ asks the question “where did it all begin? You were here within my heart.” ‘Fully Alive’ has all the prog grandeur one would expect from an NMB album, the same ominous chords and sense of anticipation as the music starts to flow. Neal sings “I don’t need to find my place, I belong here.” Tracks like the heavy and proggy ‘Hurt People’, ‘Shame About My Shame’ and the beautiful ‘Carry You Again’ all show NMB at their finest. Neal Morse usually loves his twenty minute plus prog epics, but he’s forgone this pleasure on L.I.F.T. with the longest track ‘Love All Along’, for this reviewer the track of the album, being only eleven minutes long.
Neal Morse’s work ethic is astonishing. In the past five years, he’s been involved in the release of ten albums, with bands like NMB, Transatlantic and, recently, Cosmic Cathedral. With his prodigious work rate with different artists, it had been thought NMB were no more, with nothing released since 2021’s Innocence And Danger, but the release of L.I.F.T. suggests NMB still figures in Neal’s future plans, for which this reviewer is absolutely delighted.
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