Lemon Twigs Electric Brixton James Winstanley 3

Lemon Twigs at Electric Brixton review | Power-pop magic for sold-out crowd

The Lemon Twigs brought their nostalgic, genre-spanning brilliance to Electric Brixton, with highlights from their latest album and a Beach Boys classic.

by Greg Wetherall |

The sun dappled West Coast harmonies of the D’A’ddario brothers is one of modern music’s most beguiling gifts. Not only is it a gift that keeps on giving, but it keeps on surprising too. 

Having explored lush, soft-rock terrain on 2022’s Everything Harmony, this year’s equally brilliant A Dream Is All I Know has found The Lemon Twigs exchanging gentle AOR strains for an ebullient, power-pop drive. Importantly, it’s seen them lose not one iota of their allure – their ascent remains as steep as their wardrobe is retro. 

In front of a sold-out Brixton Electric, the four-piece wasted no time in delivering the goods. The euphoric, misty-eyed charge of 2024 single ‘My Golden Years’ erupted like a statement of jangly intent. For those who hadn’t claimed their spot in the crowd and locked-in their bladders early doors, it was a struggle to gain a decent vantage point. Anything that resembled sight-on-stage within the teeming sweatbox of a venue was harder to come by than an Oasis reunion ticket.

‘In My Head’, ‘Any Time of Day’ and ‘If You and I Are Not Wise’ were early set highlights, as the band focused on their most recent two records. They found time to instrument-swap in the process, but this wasn’t a self-indulgent set that veered into onanistic, rambling solos lost in the cacophony of their own muso-minded impulses; no, these songs were trimmer than a race-ready whippet. 

Credit: James Winstanley

While the band offered plenty of snap and pop, perhaps it was meant to be that a dodgy speaker provided the crackle. It tried its best to dilute their marble-smooth vox and neat, taut musicianship. Some of the onstage patter was lost due to the faulty speaker, whose nagging interference only disappeared at around the halfway mark. 

The songs kept coming, even so, and it was undeniable that their exquisite harmonic architecture sent you hurtling back to heady days of LA’s Sunset Strip circa 1969. This was the Whiskey a Go Go’s golden era transported to south London, coming from a catalogue stacked with ear-catching modulations and counterpoints that stretch beyond the unambitious, dreary limitations that marks much of contemporary pop. 

Rounding out their main set with the rock n’ roll, Chuck Berry chug of ‘Rock On (Over and Over)’, the mood was joy with the dial turned all the way up to eleven. For the encore, Brian emerged – Spanish guitar in tow – and presented a bewitching three-song solo section that took in ‘Corner of My Eye’, ‘Joy’ and ‘When Winter Comes Around’. When the band returned, they wrapped up with a gorgeous rendition of The Beach Boys’ evergreen classic, ‘Good Vibrations’. 

Not many bands have the talent to do a Beach Boys cover justice. Not only do The Lemon Twigs possess it, but it’s clear that nothing is out of bounds. 

The D’Addario brothers weave from a technicolour fabric, their wicks dipped into the freewheeling fluorescence of wide-eyed adolescence. Couldn’t we all do with preserving a bit of that? After all, on this evidence, it’s impossible to resist.

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