Lift to Experience
The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads

"I'm just a stupid ranch hand / in a Texas rock band / trying to understand / God's master plan / When the Lord said son / tell the world before it explodes / the glory of the Texas-Jerusalem crossroads. / I said Lord / I'll make you a deal, I will /if you give me a smash hit / so I can build a city on a hill /And he said 'Son, I will if you will / I said my sweet Lord, it's a deal"

In the beginning, there were Rocky Erikson and the 13th Floor Elevators. Then came the asshole surfers and, in relatively recent years, Jesus Lizard, Trail of Dead, and At The Drive-In, just to name a few. For almost fifty years now, Texas has been fertile ground for musicians with an extraordinary approach and a fiery impact like the desert climate of the Lone Star State. It’s up to sociologists and music journalists to analyze why this happens—music as a reaction to the most conservative state of the Union? What is certain is that the album by Lift To Experience (released 13 years ago) not only fits fully into this long tradition of madmen but burns with promises of redemption and brazen grandeur from any angle you consider it. If the boldness of wanting to debut with a double album wasn’t enough, add also the underlying idea: a concept about the end of times, where the Angel of the Lord announces to these three young Texans "USA is the center of Jerusalem" and Texas as the promised land following the impending Apocalypse. And it's an Armageddon led by piercing guitars, reminiscent of both Spiritualized (the CD cover states "Ladies and gentlemen we are playing with one guitar": at once a tribute and a statement of intent) and My Bloody Valentine, with the voice halfway between the emphasis of Buckley's son and—miserere nobis—Bono before he sold his soul to the devil. The rhythm section is necessarily in the background, without becoming anonymous, also thanks to the uncommon ability to best support both the falls from the seventh heaven and sudden ascensions and apparent calm after the storm.

"So don't speak to me of heavens above /'Cos cloud nine is where I've fallen from"

Clearly, such an album—majestic, disarming, with passages of almost symphonic intensity, one might say—was impossible to have a successor. In fact, the group will break up shortly after the release of this unique work, with singer Josh T. Pearson wandering for almost ten years before managing to record his solo debut (already praised on these pages). What remains is that Lift To Experience got what they wanted: to make a great record (and this truly is from every point of view), perhaps one of the few "Christian rock" albums with something to say—if that definition makes any sense. And if it is true that history repeats itself, then it won’t be long before we see another wave of Texans thrilled by guitars and feedback. Judging by the music of these years, it is indeed needed.