With summer decidedly over and autumn rearing its ugly head, it’s only understandable that people begin going out in search of something to keep the sunshine vibes alive to raise spirits in the wet and windy climes. There’s arguably no better remedy to curing the post-heatwave humdrum than watching Long Island natives The Lemon Twigs; a band for whom the sun shines all year round.
Fronted by brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, their approach to songwriting has always been vibrant – enthusiastically paying tribute to the most spritely and carefree pop acts of the 60s and 70s while adding their own idiosyncrasies to a sound that is entrenched in the past. The difference is, where other similar acts struggle to differentiate between borrowing from the greats and stumbling into pastiche, The Lemon Twigs tackle this obstacle with ease. That’s no more apparent than on their latest release, A Dream Is All We Know.
Having not seen the band since shortly after the release of their 2016 debut album Do Hollywood, the D’Addarios have evidently undergone a process of maturation and evolution as a live spectacle. The material on this release, while impressive, had a tendency to be somewhat erratic, and this was echoed in a live show that saw the two brothers spend half the show each fronting the band and seemingly at odds with one another as they vied for the limelight.
Eight years on, the result is that they’re a much more well-oiled machine, and while they still dole out a fair share of extravagant moments, it’s done in a far more restrained and refined manner that allows their songwriting abilities to take centre stage. It’s understandable that this change has occurred as they’re no longer the energetic and overzealous teens they were when they first broke through, but they’re far from having lost their spark.
Support for their set at Thekla in Bristol came from fellow New Yorkers Tchotchke, who are not only close friends of the Twigs but close musical relatives. Their self-titled debut album was produced by the brothers, and it’s clear that their influence rubbed off on them in many respects, with many of the same soft-rock touchstones shared in their sound. Their performance served exactly what was required of a good support slot: an apéritif that bears some resemblance to the headliner and whets the appetite for what’s to come. It’s slick and it’s vibrant, and the three members pay close attention to the melodic interplay between their instruments and vocals.
With Tchotchke having stirred up excitement in the audience, The Lemon Twigs themselves delivered on their promise of power-pop sugariness, immediately launching into their Big Star-indebted hit ‘My Golden Years’. Comparisons to acts that came and went long before their time on earth are frequent, with loving nods being made in the direction of the likes of The Beach Boys, The Kinks and Todd Rundgren throughout their catalogue.
This pseudo-familiarity of their work is also what makes their songs instantly easy to sing along to, with many of the tracks from the latest album boasting choruses that will lodge themselves in your brain in an instant. There was plenty of audience engagement on these newer songs, as well as on some of their most cherished older numbers such as ‘I Wanna Prove To You’ and ‘Foolin Around’, with the crowd belting out the words whilst demonstrating a more than passable level of melodic capability.
While the high-energy moments like set closer ‘Rock On (Over and Over)’ garnered rapturous applause, it was on their more stripped-back numbers where the emotional heft of their songs really struck. Their folk-adjacent album Everything Harmony was well-represented in the setlist, and Brian’s solo acoustic renditions of ‘Corner of My Eye’ and ‘When Winter Comes Around’ at the start of the encore were nothing short of breathtaking.
Though the band can’t please everyone by squeezing in all of their beloved catalogue, good effort was made to appease everyone, and the way in which they capped off the night with an immaculate cover of The Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’ brought the house down. Not only can they emulate their heroes effortlessly; they’ve mastered how to replicate their finest work with relative ease.
It did come as something of a surprise to see them still performing at a venue the size of Thekla (400 capacity) given how adored they’ve become in the past decade, but given how spectacular and timeless their work is, you can be sure that they’ll be plying their trade for years to come whatever the venue.
Words: Reuben Cross // Photo: Stephanie Pia
The Lemon Twigs’ latest album ‘A Dream Is All We Know’ is out now via Captured Tracks. Stream or purchase the album via Bandcamp.