Across the 43 minutes of their debut Do Hollywood, New York’s Long Island quartet The Lemon Twigs explore the ups and downs of love through a baroque pop sound, culminating into a collection of tracks that sound like forgotten gems from the late ‘60s/early ‘70s rock scene. In proper rock and roll style, the band even look like they sound – the result of a playful and consequence-free rummage through the dressing up boxes of the more ostentatious rock and synth groups of the ‘70s. One minute they’re dressing up as French aristocrats in the video for ‘These Words’, the next as satin-bedecked glam-rock wizards on ‘As Long As We’re Together’. It may not be coherent, but it’s rather good fun.

Led by teenage brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, their theatrical style sweeps gleefully through groovy, catchy and quirky moments, featuring a playful range of instrumentation that keeps a delightful sense of uninhibited creativity afoot for the majority of its runtime. Taking inspiration from early Bowie, Todd Rundgren, Fleetwood Mac, Queen and mid-to-late era Beatles, there’s a sense of familiarity for anyone even remotely acquainted with those influences throughout Do Hollywood, the band’s debut for 4AD. Particular highlights like ‘I Wanna Prove To You’, ‘Baby, Baby’ and ‘These Words’, with even the lo-fi, demo-like production giving a deliberately dated and old-school aesthetic that is sure to charm fans of the aforementioned artists.

The Lemon Twigs are clearly more interested in exploring the sounds of the past rather than those of the present, but at no point does that hinder them from producing a magpie style that’s full of chemistry and character. Overall, Do Hollywood is a strong debut, with its only glaring flaw being that the band rarely make an attempt to break away from the trends set by their influences. It hints at something very exciting to come, if they can separate their own personalities from the musical character studies they’ve so expertly got nailed down. (6/10) (Woody Delaney)

Listen to Do Hollywood here via Spotify, and tell us what you think below!