Graham Reid | | 1 min read
To be frank, on the basis of two of their three previous albums we have heard, we've been seriously underwhelmed by the fashionable and hip Lemon Twigs, two gifted New York brothers who do have a unique ability to tap into pop's rich history.
But they certainly captured the attention of influential critics who – like us – enjoyed train-spotting their way through their songs (oh there's Nilsson, Brian Wilson, Rundgren etc). We concluded they were actually less than the sum of their parts which ran counter to the prevailing enthusiasm.
When it came to elaborate pop and power-pop there had been any number of better practitioners in the recent decade and let's be honest, Martin Phillipps, Dwight Twilley and Matthew Sweet were still out there working.
But because others take them seriously then we should too, and it must be said that this baroque pop outing with deep and sometimes troubling ideas delivered with lush and elaborate arrangements (yes Brian Wilson again but also the Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters too) is their best statement yet.
By some distance.
The power pop elements remains (the restrained In My Head, the more assertive jangle of What Were You Doing and Ghost Run Free) but here too are strings and horns wrapping around dramatic Robin Gibb/McCartney balladry on What Happens to a Heart, fragile folk-pop (Still It's Not Enough, the gorgeous Corner of My Eye) and the sophistication of Born to be Lonely which opens with French horn before it hits walking-pace then lavish pop.
The first Lemon Twigs album where you won't be listening for boxes ticked but will be seduced by the very clever Lemon Twigs themselves.
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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here
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