Have you ever sat quietly and felt time slip through your fingers — thinking about the people you once knew, the roads you didn’t take, and how some emotions still hum beneath the surface no matter how much the world changes? That bittersweet ache is the beating heart of Time Flies, the opening track and first single from Intangible Lines, the new album by veteran Arizona band North of Tomorrow.
After decades in music — starting as teenage players scattered across the U.S., then reuniting in Phoenix as the band Talus before evolving into their current form — Brian Mueller, Gary Adrian, and Stephen Rogers are no rookies. They’ve played through enough eras to know that the most rewarding music doesn’t scream for attention. It unfolds slowly, revealing new corners and hidden textures with every listen.
Across its 12 tracks, the band stretches their sound like canvas — pulling threads of rock, jazz, alternative, and soul. Think Peter Gabriel’s artful introspection, Radiohead’s sonic experimentation, and Pink Floyd’s expansive moods, all filtered through the lived-in wisdom of musicians who’ve been around the block a few times. It’s an approach that recalls the Steely Dan model they openly embrace: a core trio supported by a revolving cast of players from around the world. And the results are deeply rewarding.
“Time Flies” is the perfect way in. It’s wistful but never self-pitying, telling a story of two people whose lives diverged but whose shared past still casts a shadow. Brian Mueller’s vocals are steady and unadorned. The arrangement is deceptively simple — guitar and keys weaving in gentle arcs, anchored by Gary Adrian’s bass and the steady hands of Italian drummer Maurizio Antonini — but it blooms as the song progresses, unfolding like a memory you didn’t realize you’d forgotten.
The buoyant “Maybe Yes” dances between playful and philosophical, its breezy tone masking deeper questions about commitment and uncertainty. “Big Wide World” opens up the band’s sonic palette with lush textures and expansive harmonies, while “St. St.” offers a darker, blues-soaked detour through heartbreak and regret. Each track has its own flavor, but all share a meticulous attention to detail — the mark of musicians who care deeply about craft.
One of the standout moments arrives late in the record with “Pretty Girl,” a song that showcases just how far North of Tomorrow is willing to stretch. It’s elegant and understated, built on a bed of warm keyboards and strings arranged by Enzo De Rosa, with Mueller delivering one of his most compelling vocal performances.
As Mueller puts it, “The new album represents a good snapshot of the broad range of styles and genres that we move through. It isn’t intentional. It is just a reflection of the many great forms of music that inspire, and our unwillingness or inability to pick just one.” That refusal to be pinned down gives the album a refreshing unpredictability. One minute you’re swaying to a mandolin-laced pastoral scene in “When the Purple Flower Blooms,” the next you’re knee-deep in the stormy metaphors of “Taking on Water.”
The album was mastered by legendary engineer Bob Katz of Digital Domain (yes, that Bob Katz — the man behind multiple Grammy-winning records), with vinyl mastering handled by The Bakery in Los Angeles. The result is a record that sounds rich and alive, with dynamics and depth often missing in today’s loudness-war-driven music scene.
And while North of Tomorrow may be veterans, there’s nothing dusty or dated about this release. In fact, Intangible Lines is already starting to find a home with a younger audience: several college radio stations — from WCNI in Connecticut to KWUR in St. Louis and CJUM in Winnipeg — have begun adding tracks to their rotation.
In the end, Intangible Lines is a conversation between past and present, between who we were and who we’re becoming. It’s the sound of three lifelong musicians still curious, still searching, still finding joy in the act of creation. As North of Tomorrow so beautifully reminds us, time really does fly — but great music stays with you forever.
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