Lift To Experience: “The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads”

Genres: Post-Rock, Christian Rock, Shoegaze 

        Lift To Experience’s sole full-length project, The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads, is a majestic piece of art focused on the concept of the Second Coming of Jesus. Full of religious imagery and larger than life portrayals of the band’s life, the album’s narrative is elevated by the intense and grand instrumentation. The depictions of nearly unfathomable events on both a large and a personal scale are just a fraction of what makes The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads stand out as unique.

        Very few bands can write a song where God calls upon them to be His spokespeople without seeming narcissistic, and Lift To Experience is one of them. This is accomplished by the strength of Josh T. Pearson’s unwavering vocals and the presence of his faith across the record. Texas serving as the Promised Land and being God’s chosen people don’t feel overindulgent, as the band carry the weight of proving themselves with The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads. The intent of the artists to please God through high quality art, despite being heavily influenced by secular music, is a fascinating concept, which brought a fascinating result.

        References to the Bible and theology are littered across the album, and set the scene for the apocalyptic and unearthly events of the narrative. This does a fantastic job of adding to the atmosphere, making the events paradoxically seem both grounded and also fantastical. The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads’ enigmatic nature also aids in creating an image of things that are beyond full human understanding. The weakness throughout the album’s lyrics is the fact that these concepts are repeatedly introduced and mentioned, but rarely explored in a meaningful way. Built up tension tends to dissolve because of this.

        Lift To Experience stirs the pot with a mixture of wildly different ingredients and still something enjoyable, even if it’s not for everyone’s tastes. Spoken word verses, distorted guitars, and more work in harmony to create something new. “Waiting to Hit” is the best example of this, an explosion of sound, overpowering and theatrical. The amount of overt religious allusions can drag on to the point where what should be big moments, are instead underwhelming. For the most part, though, the sheer amount of force expelled instrumentally and lyrically is able to be felt at full capacity.

Favorite Tracks: Waiting to Hit, Just As Was Told, These Are The Days, Falling From Cloud 9, With Crippled Wings, Into The Storm, To Guard And To Guide You

Least Favorites: Down Came The Angels

Enjoyment: High 8

Critically: High 8

Arbitrary Number: 8.7/10