The Lemon Twigs perfect their sunlit retro pop on their 6th album ‘Look For Your Mind!’
Filled with jangling 12-strings, lush harmonies and flashes of psychedelia, the brothers continue to channel the spirit of ‘60s and ‘70s nostalgia while sharpening their own distinct voice.
★★★★★
Photo: Eva Chambers
Brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario continue their strain of precise, bright and jangly slices of ‘60s nostalgia on Look For Your Mind!. With this being the first album to feature their live bandmates on a handful of songs, there’s a greater sense of freedom alongside the album’s titular preach that we should look inward amid the frustration and uncertainty the brothers write about. Everything sings with echoes of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Zombies and Big Star, sounding like music made for a Walkman on a country road trip, in a world where the internet never existed.
The title track opens with that exact Beatles-esque melodic jangle and warm soundscape the brothers are known for. The instrumentation and production throughout the album are meticulous, filled with the brothers’ signature backing vocals, jangly pop textures, rich percussion, twelve-string guitars and melodies that twist through lush harmonies.
The album’s second single, 2 or 3, features wonderful harpsichord and flute additions beneath lyrics revering for a girlfriend more cultured and well-travelled than himself. It carries some glorious key changes, while the chorus is catchy, bubbly and twinkling with bell embellishments.
There are slight nods to garage pop on Nothin’ But You, driven by a wonderful drum part and a middle section that recalls classic Lennon and McCartney writing, leading neatly into Gather Round, a ballad specifically shaped by McCartney-like melodies.
The album’s lead single, I Just Can’t Get Over Losing You, is a power-pop special, packed with expected harmonies but also structural twists that keep it exciting and infectious despite its mellow energy. It shows the brothers have fully solidified and mastered their songwriting style.
The twelve-string guitar writing shines on Fire and Gold, a slightly folky track that opens with a Who-like guitar riff before thickening into layered harmonies in the chorus. The additions of organ and clavinet on Mean To Me stand out, with the track leaning heavily into Beach Boys influence with a slower, romantic ballad. Its accompaniment perfectly suits the lyrical theme — “Why do I feel so blue?” — filled with pleading melancholy, while remaining contemplative and strangely sunny.
The energy quickly returns with Bring You Down, a rhythmic, dancehall-like track with a brazen guitar solo and a refrain that lingers long after the listen ends. It’s undoubtedly Beatles-esque and acts as a deserved release of relentless energy and harmonious fun. The brothers’ signature vocals are wonderful as always, breaking into delightful cries on Yeah I Do and intricate harmonies on I Hurt You, which features wobbling Wurlitzer piano lines reminiscent of The Zombies.
My personal favourite is Joy, an orchestral love song that grows from simple acoustic guitar accompaniment before unfolding into sweeping string and horn sections that bleed with yearning and romance: “And I want her to come home / ‘Cos I can’t make it on my own.” It’s a sublime, soft and warm realm of Brian Wilson-style love song writing.
The album ends strongly with two tracks tinged with psychedelia. My Heart Is In Your Hands Tonight features dazzling textural and chord shifts beneath Michael’s sunny falsetto high notes. The jangly guitars and rolling drum fills remain while the song floods with colour and harmony.
The album closes with the wonderful intro to Your True Enemy, built around a swirling guitar tone that feels warm yet dark. The organ bleeds through as the relentlessness steadily increases into a fitting climax. Its eventual disintegration into psychedelic chaos — shifting electronic sounds and distorted, almost droning textures — feels perfectly suited for an album that had previously been so precise and intricate. I wonder if this signals that whatever they create next may be less concise or polished and more willing to unravel into experimentation.
Look For Your Mind! is undeniably steeped in ‘60s nostalgia, yet there are lovely orchestral touches and flashes of precise experimentation and psychedelia throughout. It feels refreshing and strangely transportive; beneath the sunshine, there are lyrics full of uncertainty and frustration with the modern climate, while the brothers still manage to weave enough songwriting twists and lyrical uniqueness to make the sound entirely their own.
Their style feels close to its final form, and they are undoubtedly keeping the spirit of the ‘60s and ‘70s alive. Wherever they go next will be exciting, especially if these brief experimental and psychedelic ventures continue to expand.
Look For Your Mind! is out now via Captured Tracks.