OCTOBER 2017 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 65
THE COVER
The Lemon Twigs
take root
Indie duo back in LI studio after new EP, breakout debut album
By TIM SEEBERGER
Suburban teenage boredom has
been stifling to many, but it’s
proved an ideal muse for brothers
Brian and Michael D’Addario
of Hicksville, also known as the
breakout indie pop darlings The
Lemon Twigs.
The acclaimed multi-talented duo,
age 20 and 18, have made a name
for themselves in the alternative
music scene with an eccentric
musical style that has an almost
timeless feel to it.
“When were younger there wasn’t
really anything else to do except for
our music,” Michael said jokingly
over lunch at the Empire Diner
near where they grew up.
Their newest EP, “Brothers of
Destruction,” released Sept. 22,
features work originally written
for their debut, “Do Hollywood,”
which is coming close to the first
anniversary of its release. Many of
the songs featured on the new EP
are ones that didn’t make the cut
for “Hollywood” but circulated
through their live sets.
The newer songs on the EP, such as
“Why Didn’t You Say That?” and
“The Night Song,” as well as songs
from their debut album, “I Wanna
Prove to You” and “These Words,”
all of which were recorded in their
home studio, have an unconventional,
yet structured feel that
integrate smooth harmonies and effortless
guitar riffs that can connect
to generations new and old.
Their work pulls the obvious influence
from The Beatles and other
staple rock acts like Big Star and
Television. A huge influence on
their style, Todd Rundrgen, came
out at their Coachella set this year
to play their cover of his hit song,
“Couldn’t I Just Tell You.”
Hicksville natives Brian and Michael D’Addario of The Lemon Twigs have music in their blood.
Photo by Autumn de Wilde
The multi-instrumentalists first
gained the attention of Foxygen
frontman and producer Johnathan
Rado and were given the opportunity
to open for the band at The
Bowery Ballroom in October 2014.
The brothers have been submersed
in music and arts since birth: Their
father, Ronnie D’Addario, had a
solo career in the 1970s and ’80s,
while their mother is a former
vocalist and actress.
“They weren’t too pushy with it,”
Brian said. “They’re pretty laid
back when it comes to their ideas,
so they wouldn’t have said, ‘You
have to do this or you shouldn’t do
that.’”
Although they set their minds to
music early on, playing covers and
posting them on YouTube and
performing at places like the Hicksville
Street Fair, they had to face the
reality of what that meant.
Michael, still attending Hicksville
High School when The Lemon
Twigs began gaining traction, had
to take day and night courses in
order to graduate early. Brian deferred
from Queens College for two
weeks before an audition last year.
Setting their lives to music for the
foreseeable future, they toured almost
nonstop in early 2017, but are
now scaling back a bit to record.
In the live setting, Michael and
Brian trade positions between
playing guitar and drums halfway
through the sets, swapping out the
lead on songs they wrote separately.
Hoping to share the front of the
stage on their next tour, and do
more co-writing, they are currently
looking for a drummer via You-
Tube video send-ins.
Nearing the end of the “Do
Hollywood” era for The Lemon
Twigs, they’ve been looking back
on the music that has come from
it. In some ways, they’re critical
of the music they made when they
were younger, but appreciate what
it’s done and how they can learn
from it.
“It’s kind of hard to look forward
without criticizing our back catalog,”
said Brian. “I know in the
heart of hearts that I’m happy with
it. I was definitely younger then.”
With touring slowing down, The
Lemon Twigs are looking at recording
not only their next release, but
music for future albums as well.
“The newest songs are the ones
we’re most into, and the newest
songs are going to be old by the
time we get to recording them, so
we really want to get a lot recorded
for these sessions,” said Brian.
“We’re toying with the idea of doing
this one and the one after that
before going out on the road again.”