A Dream Is All We Know

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A Dream Is All We Know
A Dream Is All We Know.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 3, 2024 (2024-05-03)
Genre Power pop [1]
Length34:23
Label Captured Tracks
Producer The Lemon Twigs
The Lemon Twigs chronology
Everything Harmony
(2023)
A Dream Is All We Know
(2024)
Singles from A Dream Is All We Know
  1. "My Golden Years"
    Released: January 2, 2024
  2. "They Don't Know How to Fall in Place"
    Released: February 7, 2024
  3. "A Dream is All I Know"
    Released: March 13, 2024
  4. "How Can I Love Her More"
    Released: April 9, 2024

A Dream Is All We Know is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Lemon Twigs, released on May 3, 2024, through Captured Tracks. [2] The album's songs were all written, performed, and produced by the two D'Addario brothers themselves, although one of the tracks was co-produced with Sean Ono Lennon and features him on bass guitar. [1]

Contents

The album, which was released to favorable reviews from critics, draws sonic inspiration from late-1960s power pop and progressive rock. [1] The brothers released four singles in early 2024, leading up to the release of A Dream Is All We Know.

Composition and recording

According to band member Michael D'Addario, A Dream Is All We Know is "more whimsical" than their previous album, Everything Harmony . [3] Despite the more upbeat tone, the lyrics also reference fears of not achieving one's potential and the elusiveness of dreams. [3] Musical styles of the album's songs include power pop ("My Golden Years") [4] and doo-wop ("In the Eyes of the Girl"). [3] The D'Addarios cited the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Association and Sagittarius as some of their 1960s pop inspirations for the album. [5] Brian cited Roy Wood's mid-1970s albums Boulders and Mustard as inspiration to perform his own horn and string arrangements on A Dream Is All We Know. [6] [1] The experimental nature of Swedish pop group Tages' 1967 album Studio was additionally cited as a strong influence in the recording of the album. [5] [7]

A Dream Is All We Know was recorded in the band's small studio in north Brooklyn, using tape and other analog effects like spring reverb. [8] [9] Sean Ono Lennon recorded and co-produced the track, "In the Eyes of the Girl" at his upstate New York studio. [10] Ten of the 12 tracks on A Dream Is All We Know were recorded after Everything Harmony; "Ember Days" was recorded during the Everything Harmony sessions, and "If You and I Are Not Wise" dated back several years. [9] [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 80/100 [12]
Review scores
SourceRating
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Far Out Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [14]
The List Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]

A Dream Is All We Know received a score of 80 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 13 critics' reviews, which the website categorized as "generally favorable". [12] NME characterized the album as "much sunnier" than its predecessor and based around "Beach Boys harmonies and off-kilter melodies (think the Beatles when they were starting to get weird)", though also showing glimpses of "a future way beyond their influences". [13] Far Out praised it as "a firm and fully realised album executed with certainty. It might not be absolutely perfect, but overall, the stunning performances eclipse any blemishes." [14] The Guardian listed A Dream Is All We Know as one of their best albums from the first half of 2024. [18]

"My Golden Years", the album's first single, drew particular critical praise. Anthony Fantano ranked "My Golden Years" at number 13 on his year-end list of best singles from 2024. [19] In December 2024, James Poniewozik wrote in the New York Times that the song was "the soundtrack of my year". [20]

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings for A Dream Is All We Know
Publication/criticAccoladeRankRef.
MOJO 75 Best Albums of 20248 [21]
Rough Trade UK Albums of the Year 202439 [22]
Anthony FantanoTop 50 Albums of 202439 [23]
Paste 40 Best Rock Albums of 202420 [24]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Lemon Twigs. All songs produced and mixed by the Lemon Twigs, except track 6 produced by the Lemon Twigs and Sean Ono Lennon..

A Dream Is All We Know track listing
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."My Golden Years"Michael3:13
2."They Don't Know How to Fall in Place"Brian3:33
3."Church Bells"Michael2:07
4."A Dream Is All I Know"Brian3:43
5."Sweet Vibration"Brian2:48
6."In the Eyes of the Girl"Michael3:04
7."If You and I Are Not Wise"Brian and Michael2:41
8."How Can I Love Her More"Michael2:48
9."Ember Days"Brian2:55
10."Peppermint Roses"Michael2:32
11."I Should've Known Right from the Start"Brian2:36
12."Rock On (Over and Over)"Michael2:21
Total length:34:23
7" flexi-disc bonus track [25] [26]
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
13."Gifts"Brian3:13

Personnel

Credits adapted from A Dream Is All We Know album liner notes. [27]

The Lemon Twigs

Charts

Chart performance for A Dream Is All We Know
Chart (2024)Peak
position
Japanese Hot Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [28] 82
Scottish Albums (OCC) [29] 9
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [30] 24
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [31] 7

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Teder, Camryn (May 2, 2024). "The Lemon Twigs' reference points on their new album | Interview". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  2. "The Lemon Twigs Share New Song "My Golden Years": Listen". January 2, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Chick, Stevie (May 2, 2024). "'Who wants to stare at a computer?' Pop duo the Lemon Twigs on the joys of analogue life". The Guardian. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  4. Chelosky, Danielle (January 2, 2024). "The Lemon Twigs Share New Song "My Golden Years": Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Campbell, Eric (February 7, 2024). "The Lemon Twigs Are Broadening Their Imaginations". Paper . Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  6. "The Love In My Mind: CLASH Meets The Lemon Twigs". Clash Magazine. June 20, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  7. Silverdal, Joakim (May 7, 2024). "Hyllade hipsterbandet från USA: "Vi älskar svenska Tages"" [Hyllade hipsterbandet från USA: "Vi älskar svenska Tages"] (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio . Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  8. Friedman, Gabe (May 3, 2024). "The Lemon Twigs sound like your favorite '60s band. They're fine with that". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  9. 1 2 "The Lemon Twigs talk with Shindig!'s Jon 'Mojo' Mills about 'A Dream Is All We Know'". YouTube. May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  10. "NYC Duo The Lemon Twigs Release Latest Album "A Dream Is All We Know" Featuring Sean Lennon". NYS Music. March 6, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  11. "I Interviewed The Lemon Twigs!". YouTube. May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "A Dream Is All We Know Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Bassett, Jordan (April 30, 2024). "The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know review: the D'Addarios reach for the stars". NME . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  14. 1 2 Taylor, Tom (May 1, 2024). "The Lemon Twigs – 'A Dream Is All We Know' album review". Far Out. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  15. Shepherd, Fiona (May 2, 2024). "The Lemon Twigs: A Dream Is All We Know album review – Effortlessly catchy". The List. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  16. Schofield, Will; Hodgkinson, Blanca (May 3, 2024). "The best new music to listen to this week". The Times . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  17. McCormick, Neil; Shirreff, Lauren; Platt, Poppie (May 2, 2024). "Dua Lipa comes close to pop perfection – plus the week's best albums". The Telegraph. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  18. Ahmed, Aneesa; Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Petridis, Alexis; Clements, Andrew (June 12, 2024). "The best albums of 2024 so far". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  19. theneedledrop (December 19, 2024). "Top 50 Songs of 2024". YouTube. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  20. "36 Things That Stuck With Us in 2024". New York Times. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  21. "MOJO's 75 Best Albums of 2024". albumoftheyear.org. November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  22. "Albums of the Year 2024". roughtrade.com. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  23. theneedledrop (December 20, 2024). "Top 50 Albums of 2024". YouTube. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  24. "The 40 Best Rock Albums of 2024". Paste Magazine. January 3, 2025. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  25. https://www.discogs.com/release/30542206-The-Lemon-Twigs-A-Dream-Is-All-We-Know
  26. "A Dream is All We Know, by the Lemon Twigs".
  27. A Dream Is All We Know (LP liner notes). The Lemon Twigs. Captured Tracks. 2024. CT-375.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of May 8, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  30. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  31. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 11, 2024.