Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know

by Malcolm Carter

published: 29 / 10 / 2024

Label: Captured Tracks
Format: CD

intro

he Lemon Twigs fifth studio album finds them at the top of their game. Harmonies, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, melodies, real songs.

There’s a documentary being streamed on Disney just now about The Beach Boys. While it’s no ‘Get Back’ it’s still essential for any Beach Boys fan, as is the latest album by those other brothers, Brian and Michael D’Addario. For their fifth studio album ( we won’t count the limited cassette-only issue from a decade ago) the brothers have compiled a dozen original songs that fall neatly into exactly what we have come to expect from the D’Addarios. Melodic pop-rock infused with a summery power-pop bent with harmonies dropped down from above. The dozen songs were written, produced and mixed by the bothers who also played the majority of the vast range of instruments. Sean Ono Lennon co-produced and played bass on one song, ‘ In The Eyes Of The Girl’. So yes, it’s obvious and unavoidable to state that the shadows of The Beatles and The Beach Boys hang heavily over the entire album. The Lemon Twigs seem to have no problem admitting to and displaying just where they get their inspiration from. One can’t help but wonder though that if the original incarnations of those two bands were still making albums would they be as interesting or addictive as the music these two siblings are creating. Given the results of some of the solo albums which bear the names of former members of the above-mentioned bands it’s doubtful. ‘A Dream Is All We Know’ will, in time, be considered not just a power-pop classic but a classic album, like Pet Sounds or Revolver is. Sure, the opening shot of ‘’My Golden Years’ is without a doubt power-pop heaven but that Byrdsian jangle lifts the song way beyond mere pastiche. Those harmonies, that jingle jangle, it’s perfection for any lover of pop music. If the other eleven tracks were half as catchy as this opener, we’d have nothing to complain about. But they’re not. They’re better. While the overall sound doesn’t drift too far away from ‘My Golden Years’ there’s enough variation in each following song to keep the listeners interest and miss a few heartbeats as well. There have been many bands who take inspiration from the ‘B’ (Beatles, Beach Boys, Big Star, you get the picture) groups and who do it pretty damn well, at least for a few tracks or maybe, if they are lucky, a complete album, but The Lemon Twigs have taken their influences and twisted and turned them inside out with each new album to create something which is uniquely their own. To produce (and play!) a dozen songs of this caliber is no mean feat; it’s not unusual for siblings to make exceptional music together but to make what is a career high five albums in is surely rare. Take the Ono Lennon collaboration, ‘In The Eyes Of The Girl’, and listen to it between a Beach Boys song taken from ‘Today’ through to say ‘Friends and notice the join, pretty impossible, isn’t it? Yet it hasn’t taken more than half a dozen seasoned musicians to play and produce this sound, just a couple of young siblings and a mate. Then imagine if McGuinn and company had joined in and you have the following song, ‘If You And I Are Not Wise’ while still knowing it’s The Lemon Twigs weaving their magic over the proceedings. Not only are these guys super-talented they also have the ability to make the dullest of days brighter with their music. Even when they slow things down and show a more reflective side such as on ‘Ember Days’ they still conjure up lazy summer days where all is well with your world. ‘Peppermint Roses’ recalls your favourite Merseyside band from the ‘60s while still sounding contemporary. ‘Rock On (Over and Over) closes the album and displays the brothers’ glam leanings while still retaining those gorgeous harmonies and melodies. That’s my soundtrack to the summer of 2024 sorted then and probably for many years to come.

Track Listing:-

1 My Golden Years
2 They Don't Know How To Fall In Place
3 Church Bells
4 A Dream Is All I Know
5 Sweet Vibration
6 In The Eyes Of The Girl
7 If You And I Are Not Wise
8 How Can I Love Her More?
9 Ember Day
10 Peppermint Roses
11 I Should've Known Right From The Start
12 Rock On (Over and Over)