THE LEMON TWIGS
Hicksville, Long Island siblings bring baroque and powerpop splendour. “WE DON’T GET A BREAK FROM EACH OTHER – WE EVEN STILL SHARE A BEDROOM.”
Michael D’Addario
There are ups and downs to parental involvement. On one hand, Michael and Brian D’Addario of Hicksville, Long Island have to contend with a mid-noughties YouTube clip of them performing their mum’s rap song for an ill friend. Today, younger brother Michael recognises the gesture but disowns it: “Like some little Justin Bieber,” he moans. “I’ve begged my folks to take it down.” On the other hand, dad – musician Ronnie D’Addario – introduced his sons to the music of The Beatles “from the get-go”, says elder brother Brian, 19. “I was three, I think, when I first heard their Anthology. We watched and listened to everything they did.” “We watched Yellow Submarine and Help! more than the little kid shows,” interjects Michael, 17. “And all the Monkees shows. They were really comforting to watch.” With Ronnie’s stash of instruments to plunder, the boys learnt guitar, keyboards and drums. Brian wrote his first song at seven (“I borrowed the melody of The Monkees’ The Kind Of Girl I Could Love”). Fast forward to 2016, and the D’Addarios are The Lemon Twigs, joined by Danny Ayala (keys) and Megan Zeankowski (bass), proud owners of the album Do Hollywood, a heavenly, audacious conflagration of Magical Mystery Beatles, Nilsson and Head-era Monkees. Fans of fellow post-retro youths Foxygen – whose linchpin, Jonathan Rado, produced Do Hollywood – will also want in. “We were on a big modern psychedelic kick for a while,” says Brian, “like Tame Impala, MGMT and Flaming Lips. That’s how we discovered Foxygen. I sent Rado some music, because we were doubting the music we were making. He changed where our heads were at, to not be so reliant on all that big, surrounding production and anthemic, droney sound that’s popular.” The brothers share songwriting duties, but have only just discovered the art of collaboration. “We trust each other more now,” vouches Michael. He blames past tensions on his extra work load from “trying to finish high school a year early. Plus we don’t get a break from each other – we even still share a bedroom. But it’s great too. We complement each other stylistically, and vocally.” According to Michael, “Brian writes the tighter, neo-classical-sounding stuff, while mine is straighter powerpop, but it’s also a little wilder.” He agrees this mirrors their personalities. “I’m wilder on stage for sure. And I dress a lot flashier. But Brian’s really fun to be around too.” Brian – named after Mr Wilson – is indeed the more considered and baroque-leaning of the pair. “Music’s given my life a lot of purpose,” he avows. “I wish people cared about music more. It might be high and mighty to say, but you get more out of music when you put more in. The songs I write aren’t incredibly easy, if you want to avoid chord progressions that have been heard a thousand times. It’s not like I can just wake up and write that stuff.” Martin Aston
Do Hollywood will be released in October on 4AD.