NMB – “L.I.F.T.” (Album Review)

Surprise, surprise, surprise. After a pause of 4 years, made a bit longer due to a little band known as Dream Theater, NMB prove themselves to be unstoppable as they pick up right where they left off. Written and recorded in complete secrecy, on a very tight timeline of 9 days to get the framework in place so that Mike Portnoy could lay down his drum tracks, the band did the unthinkable. Namely, they created the bulk of the album on the spot. It’s hard to think of many bands that could pull off such a feat, especially with arrangements and instrumentation as complex as NMB displays here.

After two celebrated concept double albums and two other albums filled with mixtures of side-long epics and shorter, more direct songs, what direction would NMB decide to go this time? Wisely, a double album was off the table, but the band still got in a good 70 minutes of music, meaning this is an extended listening experience. A concept idea inevitably crept in again, too, which we’ll explore below.

Reviewing a Neal Morse Band album is fairly easy at this point because, as with many contemporary prog rock bands, the audience knows what they’re getting. Portnoy has rebuffed any criticism of a pervasive Neal Morse songwriting “formula” by countering, “Hey, we have our sound. That’s what a band does, is create their own sound.” (paraphrased) While that’s a worthy subject for a good prog debate (e.g. Yes and King Crimson certainly changed their sound every album or two), there’s no denying that the vast majority of prog bands these days do indeed find their specific style, and they hone in on it.

Thus, the audience who enjoys what Morse does, whether with NMB or otherwise, has a good idea of what to expect, and it’s merely a question of “what degree of awesomeness does this album deliver?” Other listeners who don’t dig Morse’s approach, whether for lyrical or stylistic reasons, probably aren’t going to be won over by this album any more than the past several. But for the faithful, the news is good. Very good.

Given all of that preamble, we can cut to the chase and share that L.I.F.T. continues meeting the high bar that has already been set by the band, and threatens to raise it even higher. There’s little new ground broken here. To the contrary, it’s almost a “greatest hits of NMB” vibe, from outrageously layered vocal sections to blistering guitar and keyboard solos, anthems, head-banging moments, acoustic interludes, and powerful, tear-jerking revelations. The track listing of 13 songs suggests that there’s no epic included here, but paradoxically, the whole album can be seen as one extended piece. Or, at least two album-side pieces, encompassing tracks 1 – 8 and 9 – 13.

Musically speaking, the band is on fire. As the album opens up with the largely instrumental “Beginning” – a not-very-crafty way of saying “Overture” yet again – their chops are on full display as if they had just stepped off the stage from their last tour 4 years ago. It’s absolutely delightful having Portnoy back behind the kit, well worth the wait.

After they tear through several melodic themes that will be visited throughout the album, we get into the first single, “Fully Alive,” which makes the most of the interplay between Morse, Bill Hubauer, and Eric Gillette trading lead vocals. Having Gillette sing the chorus at such an unexpectedly slow tempo over bass pedals thumping is a striking approach and surprisingly effective. The Similitude vibe is very present with shorter introspective pieces like “I Still Belong” and later, “Contemplation”, which features a beautiful “The Doorway”-esque grand piano and Hubauer’s Geoshred playing.

Subsequent singles contain powerful NMB moments as well: the hard-hitting “Hurt People” features Gillette’s killer vocals and incendiary lead guitar playing with a blistering neo-classical shred-fest and Portnoy raging behind the drum kit before going into an extended instrumental jam (not included in the video single) that’s one of the album’s best. Then “Reaching” hits all those “The Call” vibes, one of NMB’s brightest high-water marks, including their bounty of incredible vocal harmonies. Interestingly, Portnoy is not credited with any singing on the album, likely due to his busy schedule. Thus, the other three work overtime in the overdub studio, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Lest you worry that the best has already been released in the format of singles, there are plenty of gems still to be discovered. “The Great Withdrawal” hits home as one of the great Morse angst-ridden pieces – as Gillette’s searing solo is accompanied by Amy Pippin and Julie Harrison’s backing vocals – before going into one of those classic Hubauer bridges. Perfection. At the other extreme, pieces like “Carry You Again” uplift the spirit with Morse’s addiction to sus chords resolving, which never seems to fail. For those of you who have heard his U2 moments at Morsefest, such as “Where The Streets Have No Name”, you’ll get a little taste of that here, too.

It all comes together with the closing number, a Morse staple, and somehow, he always seems to pull out a miracle to seal the deal. This time it’s “Love All Along”, starting off with a vulnerable vocal rarely heard outside of his worship albums (think “Cloudburst”). As the song evolves, it develops into one ofMorse’s most powerful progressions yet, and although it includes more false endings than “The Return Of The King”, each one outdoes the one before it, truly a finale bursting with emotion and revelation.

The backing vocals from Pippin and Harrison shine, and inevitably Gillette sweeps in toward the end to take over the lead vocal and bring it home. Simply sublime. Poignantly, like on his last Joseph album, Morse turns the lyrics towards the listener: “And if you’ve been down this road, And still bear a heavy load, Tell shame it’s time to go!”, and then closing with, “‘Cause you still belong.” It’s a powerful touch.

Lyrically, we’re treading similar ground as before: wholeness (union with God) splinters off into separation (egoic man) and eventually is reunited into oneness for the finale. Once again, we have a male central character and a male savior. The Christian identity is very much present, with references being to Father rather than Jesus, but not as overt as Morse’s other recent albums, and he also mixes in some elemental imagery like wind and skies, along with plenty of love. But there’s clearly a more psychological element present here as well, with some of the song’s lyrical inspirations coming from therapy phrases.

At times, these lines go over the edge a bit, feeling too much like we’re in the therapist’s chair, particularly in “Shame About My Shame” as we traverse the pains of separation. Morse appears to be aiming for a cathartic experience of the human condition, and undoubtedly, many listeners will be able to relate to the lyrics and travel this road with him.

Wrapped up in a beautifully mixed production from Rich Mouser and engineered by Jerry Guidroz, NMB albums always sparkle from front to back, and this is no exception. Although L.I.F.T. doesn’t break new ground, NMB are back to do it all again – doing what they do best. And frankly, they hit it out of the park once again.

Release Date:
Record Label: Inside Out Music
Genre: Progressive Rock

Musicians:

• Neal Morse/ Vocals, keyboards, guitars
• Eric Gillette / Guitars, vocals
• Bill Hubauer / Keyboards, vocals
• Randy George / Bass
• Mike Portnoy / Drums, vocals

L.I.F.T. Tracklist:

1. Beginning (6:48)
2. Fully Alive (5:02)
3. I Still Belong (3:32)
4. Gravity’s Grip (2:03)
5. Hurt People (8:05)
6. The Great Withdrawal (5:08)
7. Contemplation (2:20)
8. Shame About My Shame (5:50)
9. Reaching (7:32)
10. Carry You Again (5:02)
11. Shattered Barricade (1:25)
12. Fully Alive, Pt. 2 (6:18)
13. Love All Along (11:18)

Order the album here.