Mike, Matt, James and Dennis have come a long way since their first year of playing impromptu concerts at Siena College. Their first EP was recorded while they were in their sophomore year, and was their first venture into music recording and production. The band members will become slightly embarrassed if one of these EPs shows up from time to time as it is a reminder of their humble beginnings, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! They have since gone on to record 3 more albums and shared the stage with major-label and internationally touring bands such as Lifehouse, Guster, Zox, and Badfish.

In 2007 The Lift crafted their Spring EP, an album that marked a shift towards a more sophisticated sound for the guys. Spring EP still drew strongly from the pop-acoustic origins of the band but presented the songs with a more mature sound. The transition from ‘basement tape’ recording to studio recording greatly aided this process. Songs like Black Coffee, Story of Illusion, and Freedom Day, remain firmly in the band’s repertoire and rightly so; simply put, they’re just good songs.

In 2008 they recorded Our Nothing Is Alive. This album was a chance for the band to really go all out on production and they had a blast doing it. The album features some heavier songs; Who Are You? is a haunting song that sneaks up on you through layers of guitar melody and keyboard arpeggios weaving in and out over a hard driving drum and bass that bring the song to an impressive peak. Lights Out is a fan favorite about a man courting a woman with unyielding optimism, the music compliments this with satisfying upwellings of harmonies. The album seems to describe several different stages of a relationship, the good stages and the bad stages. The listener is led to imagine a dynamic teetering between bliss and desperate loneliness without much in between.

Most recently, the band has released the single Phoenix Fire in 2010. This song draws on much of the production elements from Our Nothing Is Alive; a driving piano foundation, delicious crunchy guitar melodies, triumphant choruses, and the song seems to accomplish the “just right” combination of these elements. Check out Phoenix Fire and you’ll find yourself grooving and singing along in no time.