For over a decade, NMB has stood as one of progressive rock’s most enduring and unified collectives. With their latest studio album, L.I.F.T., set for release on February 27th, 2026,
Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Eric Gillette, Bill Hubauer, and Randy George return with a work that embodies vision, passion, and inspiration. Written and recorded during a period of major transition, L.I.F.T. captures the band’s creative chemistry at its most instinctive and inspired.
To coincide with this announcement, the band has launched the first single from the album, and you can watch the video for “Fully Alive” (directed by Industrialism Films). Watch it below.
Conceptually, L.I.F.T. stands toe to toe with NMB’s greatest works, like their much-acclaimed concept album Similitude Of A Dream, combining emotional depth with the band’s trademark progressive rock grandeur.
“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.”
The album title came late, though its meaning remains intentionally vague. “We thought it could stand for different things,” says Randy. “It’s kind of whatever the listener wants it to be.”
True to the band’s collaborative spirit, L.I.F.T. began with the usual whiteboard full of ideas, with columns under each member’s name filled with riffs and snippets. However, few of them made it onto the final album. “We hardly used any of the ideas on the board,” says George. “Most of it was written right there in the room, more so than in the past.” While Bill Hubauer contributed a few early sketches, and Morse improvised piano pieces that evolved into key themes, much of the music took shape spontaneously.
The sessions were engineered by longtime collaborator Jerry Guidroz, with all drum tracks recorded on-site before each member continued working individually from home studios. For the first time, NMB worked entirely outside their familiar recording environment, at Eric Gillette’s studio in Tulsa, adding a layer of uncertainty to the process. “It was strange not being in the usual studio,” George admits. “But hearing the final mixes, it all came together beautifully.”
Mixing once again fell to longtime collaborator Rich Mouser, who has been refining NMB’s complex sound for years. As George explains, the band sends him the tracks and lets him work independently: “We just let him do his thing.” Despite the enormous amount of detail in the arrangements, Mouser once again delivered a mix where “everything lives.” The drums, in particular, stand out. Mouser will experiment by removing or combining elements “to see what it sounds like if this isn’t there.” The result is another brilliant showcase of the band’s trademark sound.
L.I.F.T. is everything the NMB fan could hope for and will surely live on in the great canon of the band’s outstanding career as one of their best.
With artwork created by longtime collaborator Thomas Ewerhard, the L.I.F.T. will be available as a Limited 2CD Digipak (incl. instrumental versions), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 2LP & as Digital Download. Pre-order it now here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.sonicperspectives.com ’
