New England Art (Progressive) Rock Society - New England's Ear on Progressive (Prog) Rock Music

NewEARS Album Of The Month

NMB - L.I.F.T.

"It is clear that NMB has crafted yet another excellent album, driven by collective inspiration, focused intention, and a long-established chemistry that continues to deepen with each release. L.I.F.T. strikes an ideal balance between conceptual narrative, musical virtuosity, compositional depth, melodic accessibility, and progressive complexity, all woven together by the magic sauce, Rich Mouser's unparalleled mix mastery. The result is an instant NMB classic that can comfortably stand alongside the band's most beloved releases." VG-TPR

"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. SM-SP

Essential Track: "The album concludes with a powerful trifecta that brings the concept to its climax and resolution. "Shattered Barricade" serves as a transition into "Fully Alive Pt. 2," which reintroduces earlier musical themes with renewed energy-most notably in the final 90 seconds, where some of the album's heaviest instrumentation and arrangements take center stage. All of this leads into the expected, but nonetheless incredible, closing epic, "Love All Along." At over 11 minutes, the track serves as a microcosm of L.I.F.T., beginning with a somber, restrained vocal from Morse before steadily building and recalling earlier lyrical and musical motifs. Morse, Gillette, and Hubauer trade vocal lines alongside a harmonizing choir, culminating in an epic ending that only the Neal Morse Band can deliver." VG-TPR

Read the full reviews on The Prog Report , and Sonic Perspectives.

Listen and watch the videos on the band's YouTube Channel.

Buy the Album from Radiant Records, or wherever great Prog music is sold.

NewEARS Art Rock Series

There are no NewEARS show announcements at this time

Click on the following link for a complete list of bands that have played for the NewEARS Art Rock Series

New England Events

3/14/26	Beyond The Wall - Performs Dark Side of the Moon	The Colonial Theatre - Pittsfield, MA
3/15/26	Rick Wakeman & Son - Special Guest: Oliver Wakeman	Tupelo Music Hall - Derry, NH
3/21/26	Seconds Out - A Tribute to the Music of Genesis	The Courthouse - West Kingston, RI
3/21/26	The Phil Collins Experience - celebrating the music of Phil Collins and Genesis	Tupelo Music Hall - Derry, NH
3/26/26	Stick Men - Markus Reuter - Tony Levin - Pat Mastelotto with special Guest Paul Bielatowicz	The Vault - New Bedford, MA
3/27/26	Stick Men - Markus Reuter - Tony Levin - Pat Mastelotto	TCAN - Natick, MA
3/27/26	4RPlay - The Boston Experience - with The Beautiful Losers - A Tribute to Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band	Blue Ocean Music Hall - Salisbury, MA
3/28/26	Rick Wakeman & Son - Special Guest: Oliver Wakeman	United Theatre - Westerly, RI
3/28/26	Stick Men - Markus Reuter - Tony Levin - Pat Mastelotto	TLCPA - Henniker, NH
3/29/26	Blood Incantation with Emperor - The Emperial Wrath Tour	The Palladium - Worcester, MA
3/31/26	Stick Men - Markus Reuter - Tony Levin - Pat Mastelotto with special Guest John Ferrara	The Iron Horse - Northampton, MA
4/11/26	The Machine performs Pink Floyd - Unplugged	TCAN - Natick, MA
4/11/26	Beyond The Wall - The Complete Pink Floyd Experience	Housatonic River Brewing - New Milford, CT
4/14/26	Thomas Dolby - Iconic 80s Recollections Tour	Spire Center - Plymouth, MA
4/17/26	Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks - YES Epics, Classics & More	Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT
4/17/26	Mary Fahl - Duo Performance	TCAN - Natick, MA
4/18/26	Mary Fahl - Band Performance	One Longfellow Square - Portland, ME
4/19/26	Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks - YES Epics, Classics & More	Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT
4/24/26	MACALAS - Arena Rock Experience tribute to ELP and more	The Courthouse - West Kingston, RI
5/02/26	Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X, ...) - WROC World Tour 2026 with special Guest Greg Koch	The Vault - New Bedford, MA

All Upcoming Shows ...>>

NewEARS Featured Show:

3/15 - Tupelo, Derry NH
3/28 - United, Westerly RI

Rick is pleased to announce his rescheduled US tour dates for 2026. Following the postponement of his July 2025 concerts with vocalist Hayley Sanderson due to Rick's impending surgery, existing commitments mean that sadly, Hayley is no longer available to join him on the road, but instead, he will be touring for the first time ever with his son, Oliver. Although they have occasionally performed together in the past, this will be the first opportunity to see the pair in their brand new WAKEMAN & SON show.

Both former keyboard players with YES and the Strawbs, as well as being highly successful, award-winning musicians in their own right, WAKEMAN & SON will be performing music which ranges from their joint musical heritage to their latest recordings.

Oliver's solo career encompasses several critically acclaimed solo albums, collaborations with highly regarded musicians like Clive Nolan (Pendragon/Arena), Steve Howe (YES/Asia) and Gordon Giltrap, a series of poetry CDs which featured Shakespearean actor Derek Jacobi, and a variety of art and music projects with fantasy artist Rodney Matthews.