The Dude and The Little Miss are back again after releasing their impressive debut Wonder (see review) Februari 2025. So within a year Lifting Line Theory come up with a successor titled The Last Goodbye. Once again The Dude Chris Carroll played all the instruments on the album and The Little Miss did all the singing which you can hear. And once again they released an album of a very high musical level. Chris told me the following important facts that I would like to share: "The material is a bit darker and at times a bit heavier than the first release Wonder but it is still in the realm of "prog" or "art rock" or... maybe not (for some of it - depending on your definition). We never chased labels, or worried about them in any way, and we certainly never even considered limiting what we wrote to only those things that would fit some narrow, purely subjective definition. We just wrote what excited us in the moment. So - please listen without expectations and take it for what it is. If there is a common theme running through the material it is the "impact of loss," whether that is of a loved one, or a relationship, or an opportunity. Not a single element of this project was generated by AI. No AI was used in any way. It took over 20 years to complete this project. Everything you hear was composed and performed by actual humans. All the obvious imperfections should make that abundantly clear but... thought it should be mentioned anyway." Furthermore the following important facts that Chris would like to share as well: "All songs are written by Lifting Line Theory with some additional contributions from M. Husler, E. Esselby, T. Ferris, M. Allen and R. Pennington. Additional vocals on Patience by Mary Norris. This material was written and recorded many years ago. One half of a partnership was taken by a drunk driver before we could finish it. The project sat dormant for a long time. It has now been "recovered" and rebuilt for this release (and the previous one Wonder). An attempt was made to have the album have some sonic homogeneity. It's up to the listener to decide if the effort was successful." The Last Goodbye is once again like their predecessor a symphonic, neo-progressive rock album that evokes the progressive rock golden years with elements taken from bands such as Genesis, Rush and Yes. This time around, thanks to the more heavy guitar parts, a band such as Led Zeppelin can be added as well. Just listen to songs such as Patience and Only One Of Them, and you do know what I am talking about. The new album can be described as having a restrained, melodic, and less-grandiose sound, favouring well-crafted compositions over complex, constantly shifting musical acrobatics. This time around the songs are sometimes more focusing on beautiful, well-crafted, and relatively simple, yet straightforward melodies, rather than complex parts. A good example is Pause For Effect. On the other hand the opening piece The Last Goodbye is again a fantastic epic piece of music in which the band totally shows how well they can come up with complex musical parts and move between up tempo and mellow parts. Therefore this track can be described as the absolute highlight of the album, without disrespecting the other numbers. And for those who enjoy beautiful guitar and synthesizer solos, there's plenty to enjoy, especially in the songs The Last Goodbye and Only One Of Them. Besides the once again beautiful instrumental parts, the vocals are also fantastic. So, kudos to both main characters who were responsible for this throughout the album. If you're a fan of Genesis, Rush, Yes, and Led Zeppelin, The Last Goodbye is highly recommended, just like its predecessor Wonder. Highly recommended, in my opinion. Definitely one of the first musical highlights of 2026, without a doubt. Listening tip; The Last Goodbye! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
