Following the release of Everything Harmony, which garnered praise from Questlove, Iggy Pop, Anthony Fantano and countless others, The Lemon Twigs, the New York City rock band fronted by brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, have returned with another unique offering.
Arriving less than a year after Everything Harmony, A Dream Is All We Know is less of a sober look at the darker side of life and more a hopeful trip into the realm of dreams. The tone has shifted away from dreary melancholic ballads and moody power pop; The Lemon Twigs are revisiting their “1968” sound.
On A Dream Is All We Know, the brothers combine elements of the Merseybeat sound, the California Beach Boy harmony sound, and Bubblegum to create a unique collection of pop nuggets. (They say it’s part of a new “Merseybeach” movement, sure to catch on, though that fact remains to be seen!)
The sense of urgency imbued in lead single “My Golden Years” comes in part from the jangly 12-string guitars and driving drums, but also from the anxiety of a narrator who can feel their “golden years” slipping away from them. Michael’s line, “In time I hope that I can show all the world the love in my mind,” can serve as a statement of intent for the whole collection of songs, as the brothers race against time to create as much quality pop material as possible.
Equipped with the songwriting chops of a lost era (somewhere between The Brill Building and 10452 Bellagio Road) A Dream Is All We Know was carefully arranged and produced entirely analogue in The Lemon Twigs Brooklyn recording studio. Most of the tracks were constructed with the D’Addario brothers swapping instruments and layering all the parts themselves.
One exception is “In The Eyes Of The Girl”, a track co-produced by Sean Ono Lennon in his upstate New York studio, which had the brothers tracking drums and piano while Lennon handled bass duties. On top of that, the brothers add multilayered harmonies that bring to mind The Beach Boys, The Four Freshman, and The Free Design.
While A Dream Is All We Know is brim full of progressive pop ideas, it closes with an ode to early rock and roll on “Rock On (Over and Over).” “Rock On” contextualises the band as part of a lineage of rock and roll that’s never really stopped. For The Lemon Twigs, it took almost a decade for critics and audiences alike to present them with the major accolades they’ve earned this past year. While their initial records were appreciated for the musical proficiency they displayed, the brothers’ past few records have communicated their ideas with more clarity and emotional resonance. In other words, “It took too long to say ‘rock on.’”
More on The Lemon Twigs
To peruse merch, records, and tour tickets, check out The Lemon Twigs website. You can also keep up with the bend on Instagram.
G.M
Follow reclessreviews on social media!
reclessreviews 