It’s been a massive year for the band who’ve done everything from touring with Bombay Bicycle Club to playing at Glastonbury but 2024 is set to be even more exciting. We’ve followed them pretty religiously from the start, patiently waiting for each single release, so I was happy to learn during our call that they’re very funny women who are incredibly easy to talk to.
Throughout our talk it was clear that they’d gone above and beyond to stay true to themselves and that authenticity is vital to them as a band. It’s something that’s obvious when listening to the album and although at points they experiment instrumentally, their lyrics remain sincere and relatable (keep an eye out for our review coming soon). We discussed favourite songs, band names and, of course, world domination.
Your first big album release is literally just round the corner which is incredibly exciting, how are you feeling about it?
C – Every emotion you can imagine
T– But I think mostly now excitement because we’ve been sat on it for…?
C – Just under a year
T – Yeah, so I’m excited to just get it out there
C – Get it out in the world!
T – Obviously I’m filled with anxiety, and I have dreams about it all the time
C – Yeah, me too.
T – But I am just really excited to get it out and for people to hear.
C – It’s gonna be crazy.
I’ve been lucky enough to already hear the album and I loved it. It was very good, well done. But do you have a favourite song from it? Or that you were excited for people to hear?
C – I was most excited about Mother. I just think it was a topic that was kind of deep, something that we haven’t really spoken about before.
T – I’m really excited to play Floor.
C – Yes, that’s so true actually!
T – And see what the reaction is. Because it’s just not like anything else on the album, it’s not like anything we’ve tried to do before. And I’m excited to see how it slots in the set, how it goes down.
Did you have a theme or intention with this album while writing it?
C – We never set out to have a specific theme or vibe for the album, it just kind of ended up being what it was. The songwriting took a bit of a turn in the progress of the band and I think that I started using it as journaling almost. It just… bleh on the page, like this [Chloe mimics vomiting]. In the end it became this coming of age thing but it was never set out to be that.
T – But I think it encapsulates really well being in your 20s, especially getting to mid to late 20s, growing up and figuring stuff out. And also knowing that you don’t have everything figured out just because you’re in your 20s.
Looking back, what advice would you have given yourselves when you were starting out about 4 years ago now you’ve hit this milestone?
C – I feel like I’ve achieved so many things I’ve dreamt of in my life and I hope to continue on bigger levels but everything happens in ways you won’t expect, is what I would tell myself. I would say to myself you’re gonna do it but in a way you just wouldn’t have imagined.
T – And not to get bogged down by being let down by things. Stuff not going exactly how you envision it doesn’t mean it isn’t ever gonna happen, it just means it’s gonna happen in a different way.
C – I feel like even everything stupid we’ve done, as children, has been for the good, the greater good.
Here we had a slight pause as Leila’s name appeared in the call and we waited for her video to load. After getting her up to speed, Charlotte and Tippi couldn’t hide their amusement as she gave almost the same answer as them to the question. They pointed at the screen open mouthed in silence as she answered.
L – Honestly this is going to sound so cheesy but I think that every single mistake that we made led us to the sweetness of finding us. And I’m so glad that we did it completely ourselves.
C&T – Didn’t we just say this!
L – Aw, that’s so cute!
T – I guess it must be worth something then.
L – That means that all our decisions now are completely unique to us and we’re able to have full confidence in that. I’m chuffed that we did that.
You’re part of our Sounds of 2024 list where our writers voted for which artists they’re most excited about. Your career is moving at an admirable rate but do you have any particular goals or aspirations for the next year or so?
C – We have endless goals. We’ve always said sky’s the limit… What are the main ones? A Brit award, surely.
T – Sell a million records.
L – No, I’ve got five million!C – Play Glastonbury again that would be cool… and Jools Holland! Really want Jools Holland! And a KEXP session would just be the cherry on top as well. Only small things!
You’re previously discussed your musical references but what about your visual ones? You’re developing a really interesting visual style with your videos and covers.
C – Wow… good question…
T – We like just looking at ourselves.
C – Swag!
T – But nothing too extreme, just us you know? We’ve gone a lot of different routes.
L – But this has definitely been the most comfortable that all of us feel, for sure the most authentic but always we’ve sort of wanted to build a world around very normal stuff and then just like having normal zoom-ins of something a little more obscure. Playing on daily stuff with an interesting different eye.
C – Exactly! I also think its always really important for us to be – if we are at all role models for anyone – to be just four normal gals who can just rock up and do it and you don’t need to go too over the top with it.
Who would you say you make music for? Is it-
C – Ourselves!
L – Yeah, ourselves and everyone. I think we don’t really think about that too much.I’m glad our music has spoken to such a wide audience instead of specific groups. It’s nice and it’s fun hearing different people’s perceptions because they are vastly different and that’s really cool.
T – It’s lovely that it’s appealed to a lot of young people and teenagers. Especially teenagers who are wanting to start bands, it’s literally the cutest thing ever. So sweet!
L – Like little girls with their dads, that’s what’s really fun.
C – But ultimately if we don’t enjoy it then what’s the point? So first and foremost we have to be enjoying it.
Are there any up and coming or new artists that you like or find particularly interesting?
C – Our mates English Teacher, they’re an amazing band and they have an album coming out this year which is exciting. Mary In The Junkyard is a band I’m really liking at the minute as well they’re very cool and just sweet angels – they’re a really cool band.
T – Our friend Ladylike are amazing and I think everyone should see them.
C – I think there’s a massive pool of female talent coming up at the minute that’s exciting and I think for us to feel like were a part of that is really cool because I think we could’ve released an album a year ago or a couple of years ago or whatever but I feel like this year just really feels like a year where somethings coming – y’know what I mean? It’s cool, it’s really nice to be a part of it.
Tragically many amazing local venues are buckling under the cost of living crisis. Do you have a favourite venue to play at, especially one that could use a shoutout?
L – I work at Green Door Store in Brighton and it’s just an epic venue, just so sick. And the owners, what they do for independent music is really incredible. Big shout out to them.
T – One of our favourites is the Oporto in Leeds which is such a great venue. Everyone that works there is so lovely, the gigs are always great.
C – And the Brudenell, epic venue. There’s countless, endless pubs that we’ve played in the first year of being a band. We wouldn’t be where we are now without having tiny little venues to play to nobody because you need that time to discover who you are as a band and it’s so hard to see so many of them being shut down.
T – Without that no one stands a chance.
L – It would just be major stuff, and independent music is really creative and exciting and one of a kind and we just won’t have that platform. That’s really scary. Got to keep them alive!
I’ve read a lot about the name change from Lime to Lime Garden due to another band having the name first, but why were you called Lime in the first place?
C – I honestly don’t remember.
L – It was me!
C – You could be lying and I literally couldn’t tell you any different.
L – I remember it! We had loads of random stuff like Spooky Ghosts.
C – Horrible names! I wish there was more meaning, I wish there was more of a sentimental deeper thing but we were quite literally 17 year olds.
L – I think we got a gig and were like “Yes!” and then we were like “we need a name now”. I feel like we’ve grown into it, Lime Garden seems a lot more us.
And classic final cheesy question: where do you see yourselves in five years?
C – It has to be world domination, full stop!
L – That’s it.
T – We’ve always said it and it’s got to happen.
L – I’ll have like eight different guitars that people will just hand to me at points. We’ll come down on nylon threads like this [mimics gliding down holding a thread] and it’s gonna be really fun. I know that if we have money for stage design it will pop off.
C – It will be sick.
‘One More Thing’ is out February 16th with a tour to follow.