Lime Garden – ‘One More Thing’ album review: A debut full of hits, hope and excitement
THE SKINNY: Writing songs, playing shows, gaining fans, writing more songs, playing more shows. Rinse and repeat until the crowds and stages get better, the festival lineups move your name up a few rows, and eventually, a label comes along and asks you to cut a record. That’s how it used to be done. It’s a tried and tested process that has given the world countless history-making acts, allowing them to figure themselves out first and put it all on tape when they’re at their very best. Hitting play on Lime Garden’s debut album, One More Thing, proves that the recipe still works.
Sure, you’ll still catch Lime Garden being silly online, but their’s is a career born and grown on stages. As a staple in the Brighton live scene, fans have watched them develop from their first weeks to now. Anyone who’s followed the band for a while knows that this has been a process in the most classic way, utterly rejecting quick hits or fast-rising, fast-falling success. After releasing their debut single, ‘Surf N Turf’, in 2020, they’ve been grafting.
Notably, none of those early singles feature on the debut record. They could easily have whacked them all on a long play with a fresh bow on and delivered it years ago. Instead, One More Thing is a statement that the band has not only grown but has also gotten better.
This isn’t an album born out of label conversations or marketing meetings. In every decision, from the witty lyrics to the interesting use of vocal effects, it’s like you can hear the four band members figuring it all out and having fun experimenting. It’s exactly the type of album that only comes from being a tight band who know themselves and each other inside out, have a vision of where they want to be, but have enough all-round passion for music not to be so singular and still let themselves test things out.
As a debut album, it’s easy to say something like “this is a promising release”, as if the record stands on the precipice like this is the beginning of their career. Instead, One More Thing feels like a landmark, capturing all the promise that has been rolling and building for years, marking and solidifying the fact that Lime Garden are, and have been for a while, one of the UK’s most exciting acts.
For fans of: Working reluctantly in the week to sway in crowds on the weekend
A concluding comment: “I first discovered Lime Garden at midnight at a festival and thought I’d found ‘The Next Big Thing’. Listening to the album makes me think I should trust my drunken thoughts more. A dangerous message.”
One More Thing track-by-track:
Release date: February 16th | Producer: Ali Chant | Label: So Young Records
‘Love Song’: An opening riff so captivating, the band start on the best note. A true cool-girl approach to the tricky feelings of affection and obsession, the lyrics invite you to jump into joy while the instrumental demands it. [4.5/5]
‘Mother’: A track to remind you to be nice to your mother. Lime Garden translate perhaps the most sentimental topic of all into a fresh indie track, complete with delicious guitar licks as Deeley continues to be their not-so-secret weapon. [3.5/5]
‘Nepotism (Baby)’: The ultimate mic drop on the nepotism debate, Lime Garden cut into the conversation with endless wit and lyrics to make you laugh a little. I need you to read this incredible bridge, so here; “To be the it-girl is to be it, and that’s what I plan to do. To have a face like an angel, with enough money to do whatever the fuck it is they do.” Amazing. [5/5]
‘Popstar’: From one dream to the next, ‘Popstar’ is an anthem for desperately wanting to cast off your day job and dive fully into the life you’re lusting after. A song dedicated to musicians striving hard for their goals. When daddy’s money can help you lounge your way to the top, it deserves to take them to the big time. [4.5/5]
‘Pine’: Refusing to be at risk of being one note, Lime Garden switch it up totally. Their roaring indie hooks are dropped for something more wistful and atmospheric here, letting Chloe Howard’s unique vocals take the limelight. It’s beautiful to hear a more emotional, introspective cut from the band as they prove that they always had more up their sleeve. [3.5/5]
‘I Want To Be You’: When this track was released as a single, I think I listened to it ten times in a row. It’s obsessive in its lyrical nature and totally worthy of obsession in sound. This earworm of a track is exactly what makes Lime Garden so exciting as a band, as they tackle universal topics with a fresh angle and cast off cliches for something more interesting. [5/5]
‘Floor’: In the second half, things are getting weirder. The band pack on the vocal effect from glitchy autotune to echoing choruses. This is exactly what I meant when I said that Lime Garden are a band that seems to have a lot of fun testing out new things. While they could stick to classic indie pop bangers forever, ‘Floor’ is a statement of their tireless innovation and excitement towards their own project and musical passion. [3.5/5]
‘Fears’: Throughout the record, the band traverse all corners and styles under the indie umbrella. On ‘Fears’, it’s like you can hear all of that adventuring as each turn seems to bring up a new influence. Roaring to a wild end, it’s not a single but is another puzzle piece that makes One More Thing such a strong release, unveiling new sides of the band with each track. [3/5]
‘It’: Almost more akin to spoken word poetry than any other Lime Garden hit song, Chloe Howard stands solo at the start and lets her voice soar. Demanding attention for their lyrics on this emotive track on growing up and losing your grip on things, the sparse start only makes the breakdown more powerful. [4.5/5]
‘Looking’: Softer than anything that’s come before, we reach the band’s closing remarks. Stripped back and beautiful, it’s a moment of reflection before we no doubt hit repeat. [3.5/5]
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