As every family store in the country launches their back-to-school campaigns, The Lemon Twigs perfectly execute the delivery of their sophomore album “Go To School” - and we have never been more excited about going to school.
This heartthrob duo has created yet another masterpiece. They have already publicly released a small excerpt of what was to come - their song “Small Victories” has created a great deal of online buzz. This release was just a small glimpse of the bigger picture ahead. “Go To School” is set to save us all from mundane music on August 24, 2018. With the peppy familiarity of early Simon and Garfunkel, the Twigs have granted tunes that groove with our late summer vibes.
Their signature sound is reminiscent of the notably showy musical works of the early 1970’s. An immediate classic, “Small Victories”, has the joyful cadence of a summer day with the Beach Boys on repeat, as well as subtle hints of Abbey Road influence. But the Twigs did not limit themselves or hold back any restraints on this new record. They expanded their sound beyond a foot tapping pop rock album and created a full blown theatrical masterpiece. This ambitious endeavor resulted in a sweet yet complex narrative of a chimpanzee who goes to school.
Album Cover.
The Twigs invite us into an otherworldly tale of love and pain from the innocent and naive perspective of a chimp. On the loosely framed topic of the “Go To School” launch, we were able to speak with The Lemon Twigs about their new production.
**What do The Lemon Twigs want listeners to know ahead of time about the record/ their process?**
Michael cuts to the chase by insisting that he doesn’t want to tell the listeners how to ingest this new creation, “Its a narrative - if you want to pay attention to the narrative then do, if not then don’t.”
Brian responds by saying, “I guess there are parts of our process that might be interesting. It is interesting to know that we recorded it without any use of a computer on a 24 track and it was mixed on a board directly to a two track stereo - just the two tracks of left and right audio. It just made the process kind of a lot more special to us. It's interesting when you listen to it because we are a lot happier with it being done this way.”
Brian composed all of the heavy, Broadway-esque orchestral pieces on this new album stating that in the album prior he had “only written parts by actually playing them,” during their first record he had bought a cello and borrowed a violin. He explained that “the arrangements on the last album came through trial and error - but this required a lot more work because I had to have an idea going in to conceptualize the parts. I had to learn a lot but it’s something I feel comfortable with now.” When asked, Brian said that he would love to continue to compose in future projects to come.
Michael builds off of this by saying, “I just want them \[audience\] to appreciate things that aren't necessarily artistic but extremely unique. I want people to know it was done in my basement on a 24 track and my brother did all the orchestral arrangements. Not someone who is very experienced, but my brother who figured out how to do it.”
_The boys even worked with both their parents on the album - the bonus track is sung by their father, Todd Runger, a major influence on the band, had a whole song. Everyone who was part of this creation had a role and the boys made sure to give them significant things to do._
Comparing this work to their previous works, Michael informs us, “It’s a lot more polished and everything is more meticulous.”
**What inspired the storyline?**
The overarching theme of this album and the storyline the Twigs create is something rather fantastical. Both insist that the original storyline was inspired by Michael’s experience finishing school while the boys worked to create music.
Brain recalls, “Michael was still going to school day and night trying to finish school early. School itself became a theme of several songs. ‘Small Victories’ puts forth some of the overarching themes of the record.” A major theme of the record is that “of reclaiming your innocence in childhood through adulthood. We thought of a character to be really innocent in a cynical environment (like school). The reason the character is so pure of heart is because he is not a human being, prone to break things down and not in touch with intuition - he is detached from humanity. Creating the chimp character allowed for more emotion to be shared.”
Michael recalls the formative time around album saying, “For a year day and night all I could see was school. So much imagery was already there, we just came up with multiple angles.”
**Personal growth during the creation of this record?**
Michael shares that during and after the “Go To School” production, he has “been more focused with a desire to commit to things more. \[Go To School has\] Tons of different parts with characters. Before I never wanted people to know what I was talking about, lyrically everything was sort of veiled. But I don't personally like cryptic things- I don't like it as much as when people are being blunt and I know what people are talking about.” Overcoming the daunting deed of sharing one’s true feelings with an audience is a vulnerable act. The boys clearly open themselves up fully in this record more so than they have before.
Brian notes that he was influenced by Michael in creating this unique musical experience and that technical advancements have been made for the both of them. Brian notes that they, “wanted everything to have a purpose to it, no tangents. Where there is a change in tone, the music is complicated lyrically. We’ve been influenced by music before the 50’s, writers from the 20’s and 30’s. Music for the public that is also more sophisticated.”
“Certain songs come from a lot of imagination - but the pure emotion was all related to our lives.” Brian continues, “The majority of the record is using the storyline as a buffer - allowing us to be more vulnerable than we would have been otherwise. You didn't really know you were writing about yourself so it made it easier to write about yourself. Most songs are pretty universal feelings - the long for feeling the way you did as a kid. It’s not lost, just a constant process of trying to preserve it.”
**Greatest challenges and gains?**
“I realized what I felt about things and certain aspects of life during writing this.” Brian reflects, “Love is something we think we get from other people, but it is actually something we always have with us at all times, regardless if other people show it to us or not. Other people can only help you reflect the love you already have inside.”
Michael found his greatest challenge was in “recording stuff and not second guessing the narrative and lyrics.” He expressed the difficulty in “starting to commit and not shy away from any part of the story. It was hard to record completely at home and record completely analog. But that was always going to be done and we were always going to do it. We went analog because it is specific and we didn’t want to work with anyone else. We did it analog because I always feel like greatest rock records have been recorded that way. I like the sound much better for rock. Usually when I listen to something and I love the sound of it, I research it and discover it was done on tape. Go figure.”
**What does the future hold for these musical prodigies?**
“Since we’ve recorded I’ve had various ideas about how to expand on things and make something a narrative again. Certain songs could make something narrative based again. I wanna make some more pop songs before I take on something that ambitious again. For now I just want to create a song that is 3 minutes and perfectly appealing to me.” Michael says.
Michael goes in depth talking about one of the tracks on the album called ‘Lonely’ which he wrote. “Lonely was written a couple years ago when I was a literal high school kid - I tried to keep the lyrics unchanged. It was written from the perspective of actually a young kid, not just someone trying to emulate a young kid.” he explains.
Michael on left, Brian on right.
Their raw emotion and lack of inhibition in creating this record is unlike any other artists their age. Having freshly escaped their high school years, Brian and Michael D’Addario are reshaping the future of music. Sitting at ages 21 and 19, the brothers have already made waves by catching the attention of artists like Elton John and Alice Cooper. Growing up in Long Island, they used music and theater to hone in on their creativity. Now these boys are paving the way for the young greats of today. Their lyrics exude confidence and depth as well as the heartfelt sentiment of earnest young men seeking positivity, love in the daily life of a 20-something. They continue to be a voice for the old souls of this generation. Their debut album entitled “Do Hollywood” set us all free back in 2016, and we have all reason to suspect that “Go To School” will quench our long lasted lemon thirst.
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by Chloe Laughlin
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