The Lemon Twigs: A Dream Is All We Know (digital outlets)

When the brothers Michael and Brian D'Addario emerged with their band Lemon Twigs with their album Do Hollywood in 2016 they were, in some circles, given the same kind of enthusiastic reception the Strokes had enjoyed.

What critics heard was a terrific tick-list of influences from the Beatles and Beach Boys to British acid pop. We said for the D'Addario brothers, “it is forever 1966-68. And mostly British”.

It was impressive pop, but a tick-list nonetheless.

Some bands -- like the High Llamas – can pull that off but Lemon Twigs were still finding their way, which they almost did with their third album Songs for the General Public (2020, still ticking) but brought home with their excellent Everything Harmony in 2023 about which we concluded, “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”.

This new album confirms that they've certainly found their niche in Shoes-like Brian Wilson power pop (My Golden Years, How Can I Love Her More?), mid-Sixties Casey Kasem radio pop (They Don't Know How to Fall in Place, Peppermint Roses), touches of baroque pop (Church Bells, Sweet Vibration, the Sean Lennon-produced Beach Boys '65 surf ballad In the Eyes of The Girl), early-Seventies McCartney balladry (A Dream is All I Know, the pastoral-influenced I Should Have Known Right From the Start), a smidgen of Badfinger-meets-Cowsills (If You and I Are Not Wise), head down throwaway boogie pop (Rock On) . . .

Yes, we've ticked the boxes.

But again Lemon Twigs sound like themselves over the 35 minutes and this bright pop sits neatly alongside that slightly darker predecessor.

Just wish they make better album covers.

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here