Shindig! #175 – The Lemon Twigs

THE LEMON TWIGS’ Michael and Brian D’Addario open up to JON ‘MOJO’ MILLS about the realisation that COVID brought and how they’ve since combined their talents and become more collaborative for album number six.

“These types of songs are nowhere near as easy to put together as the listener may think”

If Everything Harmony offered solace at a time when many were feeling lonely and closed in, Look For Your Mind! echoes the sentiments felt today. “This time, half of the album is made up of simple love-based pop song lyric writing. We can’t claim that it’s any more than that, but the remainder hints at something else…” admits Michael. “When all the secrets have been told / Your sordid past will then unfold / Your cards are laid out there in front of you”, he sings on the title track. If on the face of it, ‘Bring You Down’ is a frat-rock novelty, it’s actually somewhat deeper. “I was thinking of Amazon workers who get spied on and fired if they make an effort to unionise,” explains Brian. “And the push to replace the already immiserated working class with AI. Even as an artist, you’re in danger of being replaced in this new world the tech oligarchs are building. In a sense it’s an old story, but it becomes more and more relevant as corporations continue to consolidate their power.”

Although the album is not completely “guitar-driven pop”, the stylistic Michael began with ‘My Golden Years’ continues to grow. “These types of songs are nowhere near as easy to put together as the listener may think,” he states firmly. “You can go very wrong very quickly in the overdub world. It’s tempting to opt for something more complex, but it isn’t always needed.” The directness of ‘My Heart Is In Your Hands Tonight’ is a case in point. “When we have Reza, me and Brian recording something live in Big Star mode, we’re not laying the foundation for an overdub scenario. These songs are meant to have space. Quite a few on this record already sounded as good as they could when we were playing live in the room. If we tried to add a texture, like a keyboard, it’d always muddy the water.”

“Seven of the tunes were just Michael and I,” continues Brian, “‘Nothin’ But You’ and ‘I Just Can’t Get Over Losing You’ had Eva joining us on bass and vocals, like on the single earlier this year. The rest of the tracks had Reza on drums, with Danny joining inon ‘Bring You Down’ and ‘You’re Still My Girl.’ They helped us finally capture that vital live sound on record.”

“But there are always going to be songs where there are studio experiments, like Brian’s ‘Gather Round’. It’s a McCartney type thing, “add Michael, “but yes, we were trying to open ourselves up to using other people because the last record was really just Brian and I.”

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