Review: Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

Delivering a brand of indie rock that’s as fun as it is danceable, expect Lime Garden’s appeal to grow as we approach festival season - album number two is an absolute blast.

Indie-dance outfit Lime Garden return in explosive fashion on Maybe Not Tonight, scaling things up into something bigger, bolder and more anarchic than their critically adored debut One More Thing.

The album loosely plays out like a night out, finding the Brighton fourpiece in ferocious form. The hook-laden songs land a killer blow throughout - an exuberant indie rock/dance crossover where punchy guitars collide with percussive grooves. Euphoric rave textures sit in contrast to singer Chloe Howard’s self-aware, twenty-something musings.

Lime Garden don’t need long to make an impression. Keeping it short and sweet with ten songs over 28 minutes, the record rarely lets up – the sharp hooks danceable, upbeat and catchy.

‘All Bad Parts’ is a particularly thrilling highpoint. Inspired by Richard Schwartz's self-help book No Bad Parts, the funky party anthem opens with wonky, experimental synths that sound deceptively light against a backdrop of Howard’s self-destructive behaviour. 

Opener ‘23’ is a similarly bouncy and an appropriate tempo setter. Rave-leaning synths combine with jaunty early Bombay Bicycle Club-style riffs, underpinning the singer’s confessional lyricism (“When I was 17 I had the world at my feet / and at 23, I just lost it”). 

Elsewhere, the ‘Downtown Lover’ is carefree and immediate, leaning into a more stripped-back indie rock sound, while the title track takes a breathless descent into the chaotic world of ‘00s indie sleaze.

The first half is especially frenetic. And even as Lime Garden ease in the second, they still maintain that infectious energy to the bitter end. ‘Body’ follows Howard’s jealousy of another woman against weeping guitars and moody synth notes, while sombre closer ‘Do You Know What I’m Thinking’ reflects on loneliness in the wake of a messy break-up: “Am I destined for life alone / Because I can't face being under control?” 

Delivering a brand of indie rock that’s as fun as it is danceable, expect Lime Garden’s appeal to grow as we approach festival season. Album number two is an absolute blast.

8/10