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May 04, 2023 Web Exclusive By Ian Rushbury

Oh, to spend a week in The Lemon Twigs’ world. A world where streaming is just something your nose does when you have the flu and your in-car-entertainment is an eight track cartridge player and an AM radio. You can still smoke in bars, but nobody does. Well, for most of us, that’s just some retro version of the metaverse, but thankfully The Lemon Twigs have gone and recorded the soundtrack for it anyway.

Everything Harmony is not a radical departure from their delightfully rear facing sound. The spirit of ’74 still looms large here, but for the album opener “When Winter Comes Around,” they look slightly further back to the folkier parts of the late ’60s. It’s pleasant enough, but outstays its welcome somewhat while the fast forward button beckons. Fortunately track two is a bit of a gem. “In My Head” is a lovely, low-key pop-rock confection packed with ringing guitar lines and sweet, simple harmonies. The song uncoils beautifully and the “la la la” coda is a delight. From here on in, the hits just keep on coming.

“Corner of My Eye” and “Any Time of Day” are both gorgeous pop songs that manage to stay just the right side of saccharine—a precarious balancing act which brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario seem to have perfected. “Ghost Run Free” and “What You Were Doing” are unapologetic power-pop classics, dripping in melody with just enough grit. The Twigs choose their reference points with care, and Wilson, Chilton, and Rundgren are cited often and with great gusto and reverence. If you’re looking for any influences from anytime later than 1975, I’m afraid Everything Harmony is not for you. But this is never pastiche. This is just music that harks back 25 years before the writers were born.

In 2023, nothing is clear cut. In music, genres intertwine until the component parts can barely be recognized. The Lemon Twigs have a simpler approach and the music they like is reflected in the songs they write, it just happens to be from an era which the cool kids haven’t found yet. This is a good time to be a part of The Lemon Twigs’ world, but I get the feeling that it might start to get pretty crowded. (www.thelemontwigs.com)

Author rating: 8/10