ALBUM REVIEW: Brian D'Addario - Till the Morning

Nostalgia-drenched debut solo album by The Lemon Twigs man hits the spot

After two excellent albums in two years from The Lemon Twigs, the announcement of a debut solo album by the older brother Brian D’Addario was an intriguing proposition.

How exactly would Brian’s music differ from what he creates with younger brother Michael in their successful retro outfit?

The answer is not much. The overt Beach Boys and The Beatles inspiration remains (the former represented by collaborator Stephen Kalinich who is responsible for the lyrics of two songs on this album), the retro instrumentation underpins everything and Michael joins Brian on vocals, as well as being co-producer.

Born out of an accumulation of songs over the years according to Brian, there are small shades of deviation from the Twigs. The musical time machine transporting you back to the ‘60s and ‘70s is joined by lyrics befitting of those decades with references to ‘beggars’, ‘paupers’ and working with stamps at a postal office, leaning in more fully to the retro theme than perhaps the band does. There are also direct pleas to God in a few of the songs, pointing to a faith hitherto unexplored so candidly by the group. And there are shades of Bob Dylan and even Queen diversifying the well of talent mined by the D’Addario brothers.

A good tune is all he knows: Brian D'Addario in his happy place (photo credit: Anastasia Sanchez)

Returning to similarities, overall, the songs are great, continuing the purple patch started by the band in 2023. Lead single ‘Till the Morning’ sees D’Addario take on Dylanesque vocals as he supplies earnest commentary on appreciating the good things in life, ‘Only to Easy My Mind’ features hushed guitar, beautiful harmonies and lyrically serves as a tribute to singing as therapy, ‘Flash in the Pan’ is a country-tinged tune in which D’Addario asks for forgiveness from God for his sins and ‘Useless Tears’ is a rail against the ills in society which we can’t change set to dramatic violin and plucked guitar.

Elsewhere, closer ‘Spirit Without a Home’ sees D’Addario confront the passing of his uncle from Alzheimer’s with a mournful piano tune amplifying the feeling put into the song, ‘Nothing on my Mind’ is an energetic blast with reflections on childhood and his relationship with his parents and a bluesy chorus, and ‘One Day I’m Coming Home’ melds together the country blues style of Rose City Band with more Dylanesque vocals.

The 11 songs are a patchwork creation flitting from one retro musical style to another while D’Addario’s vocals typically shine. The only song below the high standards set is ‘What You Are Is Beautiful’, mainly suffering for its samey guitar strains at the latter stage of the album which by itself would be a strong song.

Till the Morning does little to shake up The Lemon Twigs’ formula or carve out a distinct niche for Brian but when the music is this good, who cares? When it comes to these two exceptionally talented brothers, let’s hope that their current purple patch doesn’t come to an end for a good time yet.

Rating: 8.6/10

Till the Morning is out tomorrow (Thursday) via Headstack Records