Album Review: The Neal Morse Band - L.I.F.T. (2026, InsideOut Music)
- Stuart Ball
- 2 hours ago
- 8 min read
Written: 25th January 2026
For several decades, Neal Morse has been an exceptionally active figure in progressive rock. He first gained recognition with Spock’s Beard in the 1990s and early 2000s, before embarking on a prolific solo career that has produced a dazzling array of albums. Alongside his solo work, he has recorded five albums with Transatlantic, several with Flying Colours and the Neal Morse Band (NMB). In addition, he has collaborated with Nick D'Virgilio and Ross Jennings in D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings and most recently, he participated in the highly regarded Cosmic Cathedral album released last year. How does the man find time to sleep?
L.I.F.T. is NMB’s first album since 2021’s Innocence & Danger, although the members of the band did wonder if they would find time to make another album due to Mike Portnoy rejoining Dream Theater. “We started talking about it when we found out Mike was rejoining,” recalls bassist Randy George. “It was like, are we ever going to be able to do another album?” The answer came when Portnoy unexpectedly found a short break in his schedule. “Mike came back to us and said, ‘Hey, I have a stretch in April where I can record an album,’” George continues. “So we just said, okay, let’s make it happen.” As for the title of the album, that is left open to interpretation and intentionally vague. “We thought it could stand for different things,” says Randy. “It’s kind of whatever the listener wants it to be.”
That brief window in April 2025, just after Cruise to the Edge, prompted the band to gather and begin writing L.I.F.T. Their aim was to use the limited time efficiently, and especially to record Portnoy’s drum parts before his schedule changed. Progress was initially slow until Morse proposed outlining a concept, which quickly inspired the group and led to the creation of the track Fully Alive within days. “In short, L.I.F.T. is a prog concept album that follows the journey of someone seeking to belong to something greater than themselves,” Morse explains. “It starts with feeling connected to the world and life. Then there is a break in belonging, after which comes the turmoil and desperate cry, leading to a return to that place of profound connection.”
Opening track Beginning is an uplifting start to the album that reflects on the origins of life and belonging, suggesting a sense of connection that predates conscious memory. When did it start? / Who knows / Find where the wind began / Long before the sky and sand / You were here within my heart. Those five lines of lyrics aside, Beginning is a purely instrumental prologue. Across almost seven minutes, each member of the band makes their presence felt; Neal Morse’s susurrant vocals and delicate piano introduction initially setting the scene. This builds in grandiose progressive fashion until two minutes into the track, Randy George’s funky bass line sends the track in another direction. With some fiery guitar from Eric Gillette, Beginning really takes off at the three minute mark. For any fan of progressive rock, this first track is an instrumental treat for the ears. Morse’s ornate keyboard passages intertwine with the complex rhythms laid down by George and Portnoy. A sonorous acoustic segment sits behind an intricate solo from Gillette which morphs into a heavier section and a final flourish of guitars.
Beginning segues immediately into Fully Alive which finds the protagonist seeing life as magical for the first time despite the difficult things society throws at him. Slower paced, it finds several members of the band contributing vocals. The quintet play with rhythmic structures with moments of staccato, stabbing bass and some more grandiose work from Morse on keyboards that will delight those who enjoy extended, effervescent prog-laden solos of this type. Some beautiful acoustic guitar begins in the last few seconds of Fully Alive leading directly into third track, the introspective and numinous I Still Belong. There is a fragile vulnerability in the vocal yet they are imbued with a quiet optimism that suggest resilience in the face of uncertainty. This continues throughout until a gloriously defiant, louder section that finds the protagonist liberated and self-assured. I belong to the wind / I belong to the world of glory / Leave the people behind, they know nothing / I belong to the earth and the sky / Oh my, my. This suddenly returns to the quiet contemplation of the opening, effectively showing the gentle resolve in leaving behind external attachments.
Gravity’s Grip is a two-minute instrumental that could be seen as a representation of breaking free from restraint. It is an energetic, lively piece that has some rapid-fire guitar solos, a sense of bombast and an ending that finds Gillette letting loose with some chunky riffs as Portnoy rampages round his drum-kit. It adds a sense of exhilaration and release to the album before the story continues. Hurt People – one of my favourites on the album - finds NMB in angry, angst-ridden attack mode. It is by far the heaviest sound we have heard on the album so far and brings something quite different to L.I.F.T. It marks a pivotal point in the narrative with the lyrics confronting the painful truth that those who inflict harm are often carrying deep wounds themselves. Neal Morse comments, “At some point in my life, I heard the phrase “hurt people hurt people”, meaning that those who are doing damage to others are damaged themselves. The phrase always stayed with me.” Eric Gillette’s lead vocals are raw and electrifying, challenging anguish and intensity. Tempestuous and weighty, his searing guitar solo fully amplifies the sense of catharsis as does an extended keyboard passage from Morse.
The release felt on Hurt People causes further self-examination on The Great Withdrawal that leads to isolation, loss of faith and a persuasive sense of anhedonia. The song’s restless energy, with choral voices, raging guitar solos and an outpouring of emotion in the lyrics reveals how the gradual accumulation of small wounds and disappointments can ultimately drive someone to turn away from the world. There are some prisons that were handed down / And so in our minds we can’t believe.
Contemplation is another short instrumental, this time piano constructed in a fashion that initially brings Bach to mind. The rest of the band join in half-way through the track and it momentarily becomes a fusion of classical and prog before the latter begins to take over as we approach eighth track Shame About My Shame. Inspired by Morse listening to a spiritual podcast, the sense of contemplation continues. Lyrically, dolorous and abject, it shows someone trapped in a cycle of self-judgement. A glorious, lamenting and virtuosic guitar solo takes up a significant section of the track before a key-change segues into the return of choral voices and an effulgent keyboard led coda, as the protagonist sinks deeper into despair.
Determined to break this cycle, there is a renewed energy and sense of transformation to Reaching which, for the first time in few songs, has a genuine sense of optimism. It is a rocking track that will have you tapping your foot and singing along. Its seven and a half- minutes rushes pass in a wonderfully spirited and invigorating fashion. It will come as no surprise to long-time listeners of Neal Morse that Reaching uses God as the source of salvation and the turning point in the life of the narrator. Oh, Father / Of the Earth and the sky / I feel like I’ve wasted my life / I don’t even know why. However, this should not deter anyone from listening, as the figure of God here could just as easily represent any person or force that brings rescue and hope in someone’s life.
From here, the album becomes the complete antithesis of songs such as Hurt People and Shame About My Shame. Carry You Again has the promise of a new tomorrow, a bright future and the feeling of never been alone again. From a quiet opening, the piece blossoms into a celebratory display with shimmering piano arpeggios, layers of opalescent harmonies and a driving rhythmic pulse. Fleetingly, the lively rise and fall of Bill Hubauer’s piano reminds me of Jimi Jamison’s I’m Always There – the theme from Baywatch – not something I was expecting!
As has been the case on many albums involving Neal Morse, L.I.F.T revisits themes previously explored. The ninety-second Shattered Barricade precedes Fully Alive Pt. 2 and together they take us back to the start of the story. Here the protagonist returns to openness and hope after a journey through pain and self-doubt. It embodies the album’s theme of spiritual reconnection and showing that true life is found in embracing grace and being known and loved. The promise of halcyon days and the luminous flow to the music makes us think that we are coming towards the end of the story. However, during the last part of Fully Alive Pt.2, the band return to the agitation and aggression of Hurt People showing that change cannot be instant. The insistent keyboards and dissonant guitars threaten the return of something darker.
Final track Love All Along – an eleven minute epic – begins with sparkling synths as if some magic has been cast and the temporary heartache begins to dissipate. Slow, gentle guitar and an almost quivering vocal evoke the surrender to the help that is being offered. Heart yearning / My will turning / In full surrender / He sees me / He sees me / No words telling / My resistance melting / I’m breathing in your love / The fullness of who you are. Moment by moment, the quintet make the most of every opportunity letting the realisation of complete salvation wash over the protagonist in subtle waves. Vocal harmonies, expressive guitar solos and majestic piano reflect the narrator’s growing inner strength while various members of the band contribute lead vocals. In the final twenty seconds everything strips back save for an acoustic guitar and a solitary voice leaving a message for us all. You may be losing with no chance to win / It is not how you start it is how you finish my friend / Because you still / You still belong. A powerful closing statement.
While the album does revisit some lyrical themes familiar to Neal Morse, the interplay between words and music ensures the journey feels fresh and engaging. Notably, explicit or overtly religious lyrics are few; instead, the album’s focus is broader, exploring universal themes of belonging, struggle, and hope in a way that invites listeners of all backgrounds to connect with the story. That said, Morse does point to God as the key to the protagonist’s ultimate reconnection, offering a spiritual dimension that long-time fans will recognise but presenting it in a way that feels open and accessible rather than didactic.
With L.I.F.T., NMB once again demonstrate why they are such a compelling group, embracing their progressive roots with confidence and craft. Rich Mouser’s excellent mixing brings a vibrant, live energy to the sound, with the drums in particular standing out. L.I.F.T. is an album that rewards patience - its seventy-one minutes offering a journey that is both musically rich and emotionally resonant. The story at its heart is one many listeners will recognise; it moves through moments of beauty and flashes of raw aggression, all delivered by a band whose individual talents shine as brightly as their collective unity, something the band clearly appreciate themselves. “When everyone’s on the same page and digging it, things move fast,” Morse says. “Between the work of everybody, including Rich, I think we really got there. I think we have something very special here.” Like many ambitious progressive albums, L.I.F.T. asks for your time and attention but the experience is more than worth the investment.
L.I.F.T. is released on 27th February 2026
NMB online