“Don’t you feel like at 17, you had it all but now it’s real.” *
One More Thing is the introspective debut album of Brighton four-piece Lime Garden. From candid recollections of the perilous journey that binds youth and adulthood, to highly meditative ruminations on what the future holds, within the inner recesses of this album, there something for us all to relate to. Chloe Howard (vocals), Leila Deeley (lead guitar), Annabel Whittle (drums), and Tippi Morgan (bass) form Lime Garden, the all-female indie-electro band fizzing out of the harsh catacombs of the male dominated music industry.
As a close-knit unit of best friends, they have been making DIY music since the age of 16. Since 2020, they have released a series of punchy singles and have assembled a myriad of rave reviews most notably from NME, 6 Music, and The Independent. Self-proclaimed as ‘wonk pop’, this album is their wonkiest yet. It’s a joyous petri dish of maudlin musings in an electronic belly of satisfying early 2000s indie sleaze. Inspired by the likes of Charli XCX and Caroline Polachek in their experimental feats of auto-tune and accompanied by an undercurrent of Strokes-like curve, the album amalgamates a gratifying fusion of disco, surf, and pop.
Recently signed to So Young Records, the band recorded the album in Bristol under the production supervision of Ali Chant (Sorry, The Murder Capital, This Is The Kit). Oozing with chaotic magnetism, I first became aware of Lime Garden when I saw them support Katy J Pearson at The Junction, Plymouth in 2021. I was instantly hooked on their handcrafted glamour, and subsequently witnessed their turbulent live act again at The Crofters Rights, Bristol in 2022 on their first UK tour. I feel special to have been privy to their humble beginnings, as they have recently announced an EU and US tour in correlation to the new album and a handful of support shows with Bombay Bicycle Club.
The opener of the album, “Love Song”, exposes the lyrical core of the album from the get-go. Through a series of gritty electronic arpeggios and pleading harmonised vocals (“As I walk/as I bleed/I want to take you everywhere with me.”), its wired heartbeat is forged by the metronome of Deeley’s distorted guitar stabs. It’s a model entrance into the deep grooves of the album’s ridges and the complex texture is a true earworm.
The benefits and pitfalls of womanhood is a recognisable thread deeply sewn into the centre of the band’s songwriting. “Mother” is a prime example of this. Underlined by a catchy bass hook, Howard’s vocals are delivered with an earnest serenity, reflecting on their own statement that “the bond of our womanhood translates to everything we do”.
“Nepotism (baby)” and “Popstar” hum and buzz directly from the earth wires of the cynical part of the brain. Both serve as mocking social commentary about what it’s like to be a twentysomething with an innate fear of permanency or ending up surrounded by the wrong people. Resonantly retro, “Popstar” features Bon Iver style auto-tune, which recurs again in “Floor”. Sat freely in the anchored nooks of the mix, Whittle’s drums and Morgan’s bass are the driving force behind the uncaged energy of the album.
Upon listening it becomes evident that the first half of the album is musically more optimistic, while the second half slides profoundly into a self-analysing brood on the strengths and shortcomings of what it’s like to be human. “Pine” and “Fears” retrospectively reinforce a questioning bed of everything that makes us uncertain and joined by the contemplative jealously of “I Want To Be You” there is a nostalgic skew within the squealing kettle-boiling synths and sprinkling guitar shimmers.
The closing pair of songs of the album are my personal favourites. “It” has the longest track duration and quite rightfully earns it. Its stripped-back intro is full of honest vocal belting which is pleasantly contrasted in the second half with floaty harmonies and orb-like droplet synth twangs. “Looking” proves that nothing is off limits for the band, as the finale of the album plays on the heartstrings of the soul, in an undemanding acoustic harmonised lullaby. With a brooding drizzle on the ivories, the album rounds off rather attentively.
Lime Garden have dexterously demonstrated a personal and inherent musical intelligence with One More Thing. Bleeding with originality, I believe they are essential to the indie scene right now.
One More Thing is out 16/02/2024 on So Young Records – pre-order from their Website.
Lime Garden socials: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
See Lime Garden live in the UK in 2024 (special in-store tour in italics):
16 Feb | Resident, Brighton (6:30pm)
17 Feb | Pie & Vinyl, Portsmouth (12pm)
17 Feb | Vinilo, Southampton (6:30pm)
19 Feb | Banquet Records, Kingston (6pm)
20 Feb | Truck Records, Oxford (6pm)
21 Feb | Rough Trade, Nottingham (6pm)
22 Feb | Jacaranda Records, Liverpool (7pm)
27 Feb | YES (Pink Room), Manchester
28 Feb | Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh
29 Feb | Hug & Pint, Glasgow
2 Mar | Workman’s, Dublin
3 Mar | Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
4 Mar | Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
6 Mar | Fleece, Bristol
7 Mar | Lafayette, London
8 Mar | Chalk, Brighton
*Line from the track ‘It’.
Review by Avalon Vowles
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