Over the last couple years, the Lemon Twigs have appeared poised for an ascension. The project of young Long Island brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario, the Lemon Twigs’ idiosyncratic mixture of garage, psych-rock, and theatrical orchestral-pop leanings quickly garnered the duo plenty of accolades, including from older artists like Todd Rundgren and Elton John. The D’Addarios never seemed to want to rest on that initial success, but instead sought to capitalize on their momentum to get as much music out there as possible, as quickly as possible. When I spoke to them last summer, they were following their 2016 debut Do Hollywood with an EP called Brothers Of Destruction, but they were more interested in talking about the handful of other albums they were working on and planning to unveil in the not-too-distant future. Today, they’ve officially announced one of those, and it’s called Go To School.

The Lemon Twigs had previously teased their sophomore outing at the end of June, alluding to a movie and an album/musical. They’ve also been dropping hints about its themes for a long time now, but now we have some more concrete info. Over the course of 15 tracks, Go To School “tells the heartbreaking coming of age story of Shane, a pure of heart chimpanzee raised as a human boy, as he comes to terms with the obstacles of life.” The D’Addario brothers did every step of the process — from writing to mixing — at home on Long Island, but it sounds like they were still aiming for the blockbuster proportions of rock operas past. They even enlisted other voices, including Rundgren and their own mother Susan Hall, to round out the cast and bring specific identities to Go To School’s characters.

Along with the announcement, the Lemon Twigs have shared a lead single in the form of Go To School’s closer “If You Give Enough.” When the D’Addarios first started discussing their plans for a musical, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine this ambition as an outgrowth of their youths spent acting in Broadway musicals, and you can certainly hear that DNA in the sentimental string flourishes and piano figures of “If You Give Enough.” There’s already been a good amount of stylistic territory covered in the Lemon Twigs’ early days, and their latest offering suggests that Go To School will find them continuing to explore. Check it out below.

TRACKLIST:

01 “Never In My Arms, Always In My Heart”
02 “The Student Becomes The Teacher”
03 “Rock Dreams”
04 “The Lesson”
05 “Small Victories”
06 “Wonderin’ Ways”
07 “The Bully”
08 “Lonely”
09 “Queen Of My School”
10 “Never Know”
11 “Born Wrong/Heart Song”
12 “The Fire”
13 “Home Of A Heart (The Woods)”
14 “This Is My Tree”
15 “If You Give Enough”

TOUR DATES:

08/08 – Oslo, NO @ Øya Festival
08/09 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
08/11 – Rees, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival
08/14 – London, UK @ The Lexington
08/15 – London, UK @ The Lexington
08/17 – Brecon Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival
08/18 – Biddinghuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
08/19 – Saint-Malo, FR @ La Route Du Rock
08/23 – New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right
09/06 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Arena*
09/07 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Arena*
09/09 – London, UK @ O2 Arena*
09/10 – London, UK @ O2 Arena*
09/12 – London, UK @ O2 Arena*
09/13 – London, UK @ O2 Arena*
09/15 – Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham Arena*
09/16 – Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham Arena*
09/18 – Sheffield, UK @ FlyDSA Arena*
09/19 – Sheffield, UK @ FlyDSA Arena*
09/21 – Sheffield, UK @ FlyDSA Arena*
09/22 – Sheffield, UK @ FlyDSA Arena*
09/24 – Dublin, IE @ 3Arena*
09/25 – Dublin, IE @ 3Arena*
09/27 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @ Metro Radio Arena*
09/28 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @ Metro Radio Arena*
10/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever
10/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl*
10/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl*
11/18 – Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital

* w/ Arctic Monkeys

CREDIT: Olivia Bee

Go To School is out 8/24 via 4AD. Pre-order it here.