New York rockers The Lemon Twigs have a heck of a backstory. Fronted by brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, who appeared in Broadway shows and in a variety of TV shows and films as children, their last album, 2018’s Go To School, was a concept album about a chimpanzee raised as a human child and forced into education. Yes, really.

The D’Addario brothers share vocal and songwriting duties, and both are multi-instrumentalists. They are joined by Daryl Johns on bass, Tommaso Taddonio on keyboards and Andres Valbuena on drums, for their live shows.

The cautiously-named Songs For The General Public is their third album, and much closer in feel to their 2016 debut Do Hollywood. Opening track Hell On Wheels sounds like Bob Dylan covering Meatloaf, and is every bit as fun as that sounds. No One Holds You (Closer Than The One You Haven’t Met) is much closer to David Bowie esque glam rock, while Fight is a nod to Queen complete with Freddie Mercury inspired vocals.

Moon starts with a Bruce Springsteen flavoured harmonica intro, Why Do Lovers Own Each Other? is a dreamy, trippy affair, Leather Together comes straight from the songbook of New York Dolls or Television, and closing track Ashamed is a stripped-back country track that tells an incredibly strange tale about an incestuous relationship.

As you might have gathered, there’s a lot going on with Songs For The General Public, and it’s a testament to the D’Addario’s that so much here works so well. As a cross-section of 1970’s music reimagined for 2020, it’ a highly enjoyable record, with enough variety to stop the concept from falling flat.

Listen to the official audio of No One Holds You (Closer Than The One You Haven’t Met) below.

Songs For The General Public tracklist:

1. Hell On Wheels

2. Live In Favor Of Tomorrow

3. No One Holds You (Closer Than The One You Haven’t Met)

4. Fight

5. Somebody Loving You

6. Moon

7. The One

8. Only A Fool

9. Hog

10. Why Do Lovers Own Each Other?

11. Leather Together

12. Ashamed

 rock       indie 

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.