Words by Lucy Young
This week we shine a light on Lime Garden: the Brighton-bred four-piece indie band banking on their smooth tones and refreshing lyricism
There’s truly something satisfying about empowered women taking the music industry by storm, and reinventing what it means to be a performer, a musician, and an all-round class act. If you’re a fan of four-time Brit Award winner Wet Leg, or perhaps the dulcet tones of Suki Waterhouse, then Lime Garden is the new emerging group for you.
Lime Garden’s sound bounces between mellow pop, styled similarly to the likes of Alfie Templeman’s indie sleaze, and comparable with the less angsty tones of Wolf Alice, with a slight scent of a disco riff. They’re the refreshingly unapologetic band that is pushing indie music into new territory. Based out of Brighton, but recently touring the U.S., they are being marketed as a group that focuses on “jumping over genre boundaries”, prioritising “an almost nonchalant net of lo-fi sounds, sprinkled with a dry wit”.
As a group that was formed during the pandemic, they provided a sound that was needed to get through those cabin fever blues. Listeners can feel the friendship that sustains the lifeblood of Lime Garden’s music, with the first few EP releases being eccentric, funny and energetic. As their sound has progressed, so has the group’s lyricism; open dialogue, self-reflection and direct conversation with listeners has been the consistent strength present on all seven EP releases so far.
Tracks making the biggest waves include ‘Clockwork’ and ‘Marbles’, songs that somehow embody a loss of control, repetitive heartbreak and rejection through upbeat and funky instrumentals. Perfectly, they embody the ‘Gen Z’ approach to handling personal strife, and why Lime Garden’s whole package resonates well with its target audience.
Even Paramore’s Hayley Williams described Lime Garden as one of her favourite emerging groups from the U.K., and audiences seem to agree. Upcoming 2023 stage appearances in Germany, Spain and the U.S. are just the beginning, with a bucketful of festival bookings, including appearances at Latitude, Maifeld Derby and SXSW, signalling a reason to be positive when considering Lime Garden’s year ahead.
Lime Garden’s music videos add another often unspoken layer to the overall experience. Whether it’s psychedelic moustaches or snapshots that are reminiscent of CBBC’s M.I. High, the girls are giving us content! Currently, they’re touring over on the other side of the Atlantic, but are due to host their first headlining gig in London later on this year. With an indirectly queer feel and a defiant confidence, I am very excited to get a hold of Lime Garden’s first album, and I’m impatiently awaiting a release date.