BRIAN D'ADDARIO - Till The Morning

The D'Addario brothers' time machine continues its journey back into the wonders of beat and pop music. The leading role in this solo venture falls to Brian alone, caustically defined as baroque-country. For Lemon Twigs fans, it's a tasty opportunity to appreciate Brian D'Addario's talent as a songwriter: on "Till The Morning" the musician partly sets aside brother Michael's more intricate architectures (though he's still present behind the scenes) and entrusts himself to the pen of the well-known Beach Boys collaborator Stephen Kalinich, for a collection of gentler songs more inclined toward that melting pot where the only constant is a timeframe straddling the 1960s and early 1970s.

With a splendid "What You Are Is Beautiful" that vibrates on a handful of guitar chords and ecstatic romanticism, and a delightful country song in the vein of Gene Clark, adorned with precious slide guitar and organ flourishes ("One Day I'm Coming Home"), it becomes easy to file Brian's solo debut as a successful creative outing perfectly aligned with his main band, even if many will miss the playful variety and livelier character of the Lemon Twigs' songs, traces of which can be found here in the lopsided power pop of "This Summer" and the dive into bubblegum pop of "Flash In The Pan".

"Till The Morning" is a record where the songs themselves take center stage, sometimes so simple they sound pleasantly plain - the title track and the Beatles-esque "Nothing On My Mind" - but also steeped in a cultivated melodic depth and charm, as in the chamber pop of "Useless Tears" and the old-fashioned romanticism of "Company".

With the addition of a touch of freak-folk ("Song Of Everyone"), a sugary ballad framed by evocative vocal harmonies ("Only To Ease My Mind"), and an inspired, melancholy "Spirit Without A Home" (dedicated to an uncle suffering from Alzheimer's), Brian D'Addario confirms himself as a songwriter consciously immersed in the past, with a finely elegant touch.

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27/04/2025