Lime Garden – Maybe Not Tonight

It’s almost the weekend, so how about a night on the town? Jay Dee brings us the soundtrack…

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[7.33]Alfred Soto: This Brighton quartet hang on to the eternal punk verities, playing their riffs as if they just invented them. “I just want to bop my head and smoke a cigarette / I want to do it till my lungs go brown without any regret,” Chloe Howard sings, quite secure she’ll never suffer consequences.
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Ian Mathers: There are parts of the lyrics here that are specific to the experience of going out for the night as a young woman, but enough of them are more universal that if this had come out in my bar-going days it would absolutely have been a song I would have listened to on repeat after I got home alone. Except sonically it’s spikier and more interesting than a lot of its peers in that field. I am very interested in hearing the album I am assuming/hoping this will end up on.
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Julian Axelrod: The name “Lime Garden” calls back to a very specific moment in the mid-2010s where every indie rock band was named after fruits. (Anyone remember Dope Lemon?) The sound evokes a post-Strokes dance punk wave that suggests they should change their name to The Limes. But the track’s aggressive forward momentum makes it clear this band doesn’t care about the past; they’re committed to charting a path for the future.
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Claire Davidson: For all the thinkpiece handwringing that has emerged over the topic of “indie sleaze,” there have been very few musicians able to authentically replicate the kinetic thrum of the rock bands who pioneered that style in the mid-2000s. Lime Garden comes perhaps the closest I’ve ever heard to serving this niche in the present day with “Maybe Not Tonight,” proving that the basics of an elevated bassline, abrasive synths, and a surging lead guitar are all you really need for an infectious indie rock jam. Lead vocalist Chloe Howard has the sardonic posture of the era down pat, too, perceptively highlighting how partying can become just another way of dissociating for those who weren’t feeling the adrenaline rush in the first place. It’s a testament to Lime Garden’s robust fundamentals that my biggest complaint with the song is that it’s not anthemic enough — the restless energy surrounding the rest of the track begs for a hook that truly explodes, rather than the muted call-and-response the song ultimately provides.
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Nortey Dowuona: I’m very sorry, Chloe, Annabel, Tippi and Leila; but when you let Harv Frost do it to you, there is nothing to be done. (That breakdown is great, though.)
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Iain Mew: The character of the magnificent guitar squiggles and the processed stutters alike suggest a night out listening to Bloc Party. Smashing together the best bits from across years of their career sounds improbably fresh, though, especially paired with lyrics that dash in and out of hedonism smartly.
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