I think it was a certain Ginger Wildheart who first bought The Lemon Twigs to my attention, and it was not long before their 3rd studio album ‘Songs For The General Public’ was in my hands and on my turntable. There’s been two more studio albums since then and the Long Island power pop band, led by brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario have been top of my “bands I wanna see live” list for quite some time.
On the road promoting their latest long player ‘A Dream Is All We Know’, tickets were purchased the minute I spied a Leeds date at my favourite venue.
The Brudenell date has been long sold out, and it is already busy as the unpronounceable Tchotchke take to the stage. A 3 piece, all girl band with a drummer who happens to be the lead singer. With their 3-part harmonies, pop sensibilities and cool song dynamics they fit the bill like a glove. I’m sold after just a couple of tunes to be honest.
Thye have one album out, it happens to be produced by the D’Addario brothers and their melancholy and dreamy pop music comes across like a mix of The Shangri-Las meets Sleeper. Yep, 60’s girl group meets Brit Pop, its all jangly guitars, lush vocals and laid-back melodies that stick in your brain.
I don’t know any of their songs but I’ll tell you one thing, I don’t think a support band has ever left such an impression on me before. Their album has got to be my next purchase.
I’ve been looking forward to seeing The Lemon Twigs for what seems like an age. They open with ‘Golden Years’ and it’s all jangly guitars, lush vocals and smiles from the off. With skinny t shirts, perfect hair and even more perfect harmonies, the D’Addario brothers are on it from the word go. Leaning heavily on the latest album and its predecessor ‘Everything Harmony’, it’s pretty much a dream set with a few obscure covers thrown in for good measure. The first highlight follows a version of ‘Transparent Day’ by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. My two favourite tunes from the new album are played together: ‘Church Bells’ is a glorious power pop ode that could’ve been penned by McCartney in the early 70’s, and the following ‘If You And I Are Not Wise’ sounds more like the Byrds than anything in recent history. Emotive, transcendent and fulfilling, I could go home happy right now, but there’s more to come.
The boys switch instruments throughout the set and take lead vocals on the songs they have written. ‘I Wanna Prove To You’ is another highlight, with Brian playing bass and Michael bashing the kit like Keith Moon, drummer Reza Matin takes on guitar duties and bassist Danny Ayala plays keyboards. It just goes a long way to show what accomplished musicians this whole band are.
The atmosphere is electric in the room tonight as we witness magic on the stage. ‘They Don’t Know How To Fall In Place’ is killer and ‘Peppermint Roses’ is a new album favourite that is just as good live. The main set ends with the Beach Boys-esque ‘How Can I Love Her More’ before Brian returns with just an acoustic guitar to play 3 songs solo. His beautiful rendition of ‘Corner Of My Eye’ captivates the whole room, did I actually hear a pin drop? New song ‘Joy’ gets an airing, and ‘When Winter Comes Around’ is as emotive and possibly even more beautiful than the album version.
The full band return for a run through of The Beach Boys ‘You’re So Good To Me’ before ending on a high with a rocker. ‘Rock On Over and Over’ is as 70’s glam rock as you can get, T Rex meets Elton John for the win! What a finale.
I knew The Lemon Twigs were going to be good, but I wasn’t expecting them to be this good. The combination of perfectly executed pop songs delivered with an energetic performance, mixed with great sound and lights, by a band who are tight and look like they are really enjoying themselves. The benchmark gig of the year by far.
Author: Ben Hughes
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