The Lemon Twigs - Look For Your Mind!

The latest Lemon Twigs offering sees the duo adopt a cyberpunk aesthetic, melding sparse glitch-core rhythms with synthwave stylings, all while working in collaboration with a generative AI agent named Gerald_67. Except, not really. The mere thought of brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario even owning a smartphone, let alone doing their shopping online, is an anachronism as unfathomable as a caveman eating a Pot Noodle. There is little evidence to suggest they have ever existed in a timeframe beyond 1974; from large-knit tank tops to recording almost exclusively on tape, their approach is unashamedly, unapologetically retro. Of course, what ultimately matters is whether it’s actually any good. The answer, thankfully, is yes. The result always sounds authentic, drawing on a musical language that is second nature. Within their self-imposed limitations, the multi-instrumentalist siblings have displayed phenomenal variety across six albums, progressing through baroque-prog, showtunes, Big Star power-pop, early Bee Gees power ballads, to their self-styled ‘Mersey Beach’. And they are still in their 20s.

More recently, they’ve settled into streamlined, jangly, Byrds-indebted pop – the dominant sound on ‘Look For Your Mind!’, hinted at on 2025 standalone singles ‘Friday, I’m Gonna Love You’ / ‘I’ve Got a Broken Heart’ (which is curiously missing here). This time, they’ve invited their live bandmates, Danny Ayala and Reza Matin along to play on a handful of recordings. Throughout the arrangements are clear and direct, shaving off some of their earlier eccentricities. While there’s nothing quite as instant as ‘These Words’ or ‘Any Time of Day’, it’s chock-full of gems. ‘Mean to Me’ is straight off ‘Pet Sounds’ while ‘Bring You Down’ might as well be a 1962 Cavern Club bootleg. Whatever your view on their schtick, the songs will win you over in the end.