The Lemon Twigs are the latest LI rock band sensation
Brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario make up The Lemon Twigs, based in Hicksville. Credit: 4AD / Autumn de Wilde
It’s been a while since Long Island has had a bona fide rock sensation to get excited about, but The Lemon Twigs are ready to change that.
The Hicksville-based band — led by the D’Addario brothers, 17-year-old Michael and 19-year-old Brian — made its television debut on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” last month and can already count Questlove as a fan. The band’s debut, “Do Hollywood,” came out Oct. 14 on the highly respected indie label 4AD Records and a European tour is set to begin next month.
“Do Hollywood” shows exactly what all the excitement is about, with the band’s combination of “Pet Sounds”-era Beach Boys, “White Album”-era Beatles and today’s indie singer-songwriter pop from the likes of their pal Tobias Jesso Jr.
Though The Lemon Twigs’ influences are clearly on display, these songs reconfigure them into something all their own.
The first single, “These Words,” throws some early Elton John piano grooves into the mix, as a wall of harmonies fades into what sounds like a xylophone solo and a guitar freakout. The only sign that the lovely piano ballad “How Lucky Am I?” comes from today and not the early ’70s is a passing reference to something “copy and pasted.”
