6. The Lemon TwigsDo Hollywood

I revisited this for the first time in ages two days ago, and I forgot how incredible it is. I’ve been so into them since this came out. It was so fresh, because it was these two young kids making music from the past and the future at the same time. It’s very succinct. It knows what it is, it knows its identity. It’s so crispy and punchy. But then it’s also got a lot of the grandma music stuff, the silly fun stuff. It’s everything I love about music. This band has just given me so much.

Do Hollywood is their debut, but it’s weirdly their most sonically accomplished album – their more recent records are leaning aggressively into directions, whether it’s prog rock, or straight-up soft indie. It’s like they decided to make this amazing mature record, then they were like, fuck it, let’s just get really into one thing for a bit. I admire it, and that set a precedent for me: that you can just do whatever you want and not worry if people don’t like it.