A Ballad for your Twenties: Lime Garden

Half-way through their UK tour and on en-route to the US, Brighton’s all-girl post- punk band ‘Lime Garden’ played to a packed crowd of 20 and 30 -something year olds in the union theatre at Leeds University on October 10. 

Promoting themselves in bold letters on a placard behind the musicians as “Your favourite female band. Your favourite new band. Your favourite Britpop band” , Lime Garden has indeed attracted a strong following from angst-ridden fans of both sexes seeking to cope with the transition to adult life, not least the “hangxiety” – the aftermath and self-recrimination that can follow drunken night when it’s unclear exactly what you said and the worries settle in the next day. 

Touring on the back of Maybe Not Tonight –  their second album -, which was released in April, Lime Garden’s ,album opening song  ‘23’ warns of the ups and downs of post university life telling listeners that ‘At 17, I had the world in my hands, And at 23, I just lost it’.

Chloe Howard, the pink-haired lead vocalist, held the show, with her unfazed and feisty spirit, but was  ably supported by guitarist Leila Deeley, bassist Tippi Morgan and drummer Annabel Whittle. Named as one of NME’s top 100 artists for 2022, the band met as music students in Guildford, where they say they shared a love of bands such as Talking Heads, Fontaines DC, Wunderhorse, Wolf Alice, the Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes.

The show kicked off with a gutsy rendition of Body – underscoring how young women still struggle to accept and feel good about their appearance. “I hate the way my body looks too, if that helps but it won’t I hate the way I’m looking at you, you look so beautiful”.

Forceful and angry, but with pop undertones, Lime Garden’s songs are unapologetically influenced by all – female music such as the riot girl bands of the 1990s such as Bikini Kill, punk feminist bands such as the Raincoats in the 1980s and perhaps closest in tone – The Slits – nearly 50 years since they gained worldwide acclaim with their assertive feminist music. Like the Slits, Lime Garden has a rebellious feel, with a feisty spirit that is unconventional and bold. 

In Maybe Not Tonight Howard talks of the tyranny of comparison, promoted by social media sites such as Instagram, and the need to feel special: “I wanna walk around and not compare myself to all my friends..I wanna kiss a face to make me feel like I’m the one…I wanna look into the lights until my eyes have gone all”.

By the last song the atmosphere was euphoric and the entire crowd was on their feet dancing and singing, with Howard shifting between playing the tambourine and the guitar. Irish singer-songwriter Sarah Crean – who had performed the opening act –  joined the stage, creating  a joyful party-like atmosphere.

Lime Garden describes itself as “wonk pop” but although it appeals to Britpop fans, it should find a much wider audience; fans of Indie bands including Wet Leg, Brooki, Mary in the Junkyard, and Sorry will also find much to like here. Nevertheless if you like angsty Britpop that feels relatable and helps to redeem your post night-out hangxiety – Lime Garden is well worth listening to.

Words by Alex Plimmer and Elissa Davis.