Lime Cordiale’s 14 Steps To A Better You album brings us a swirling entrancement of songs that couldn’t be more pertinent during the current global conundrum with tracks offering introspection into life’s many wild and wacky lessons.
Recorded on a farm in New South Wales over a two week period, brothers Oli and Louis Leimbach have created a modern-day self-help guide to the lost souls of today who crave some groove infused guidance to better days. Forming in 2009 and releasing their debut album Permanent Vacation in 2017, Lime Cordiale have found huge success with four tracks in the Hottest 100 of 2019 and their hit tunes ‘Robbery’, ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’, and ‘Dirt Cheap’ all going Gold. Showcasing immense talent and retro flair, Lime Cordiale’s sophomore album 14 Steps To A Better You is a collection of stunning musical and lyrical genius that proves the two brothers have perfected their indie-rock sound.
The album begins with ‘That’s Life’, the perfect phrase to excuse the current mess that is life in 2020. With bouncing keys, jazzy trumpets, and lyrics that explore the existential funk we’re all experiencing, Lime Cordiale has produced an ironically lively tune that helps us accept what currently feels like unending doom: “we’re here ’til we die, that’s life”. Next is the duo’s hit song ‘Robbery’ that is dripping in groovy funk energy with an upbeat tempo that makes you want to get up and move. Who knew heartbreak could be explored in such an energetic vivacious way. ‘Robbery’ is a catchy pop anthem that again infuses jazz amongst the duo’s indie-rock sound, with trombones playing amongst funky rhythmic guitar and vocals. The boys have clearly robbed our hearts with this absolute banger of a track, reeling us in to keep listening and of course; we want more.
‘Inappropriate Behaviour’ is a bright summery feel-good tune that explores the manipulative behaviour and negative influences certain people can bring to our lives. With lively guitars, groovy bass and radiant keys, this song is the perfect self-help track to expel the angst of yesteryear encouraging us to leave negativity at the door. In an interview with triple j, Oli spoke about how this song was one of his favourites on the album. “This was one Louis brought to me [and] I frothed on it, more than anyone else…I’ve been the biggest fan of this song from the start, so I’m stoked.”
‘Addicted To The Sunshine’ comes next dripping in bright, sunny energy and is very reminiscent of the beach boys with a laid back beachy vibe. You can almost feel yourself forming a deep summer glow just listening to this vibrant and summery track. Although it exudes extreme positive energy, this song has a more sombre undertone with the underlying message of the song exploring the climate change crisis.
“The lyrics ended up moving into a more critical look at Australia,” Oli told triple j. “This song is about getting up off our towels and changing bad habits. We need to consume less, offset our shitty actions and respect the sunshine and environment that we love.”
This song is sonically stunning with a powerful message nestled amongst this groovy, summer-infused tune.
‘Money’ is a funky pot of gold with riffing guitars and retro vocals that are smooth and sexy bringing an edge of ‘cool’ to the album. Released at the start of February in 2019, Oli says the track is about the role money plays in society and “how it can be the source of more issues than solutions”, according to Scenestr. Although the boys explore some serious issues in their new album, their overall aim is to do it while having fun.
“At the end of the day we’re trying to hit some issues, but we’re also trying to do something that people can listen to and just have fun.”
With a 70s edge, ‘Money’ is the perfect tune to jam out to with its catchy chorus and vibrant trumpet anecdotes that frame the song as a musical masterpiece.
‘Screw Loose’ is a psychedelic infused tune that is incredibly bubbly and fun with spiraling keys and humourous sound effects making it one wacky tune. The track comes with an accompanying music video that shows Lime Cordiale venturing through a forest stumbling across psychedelic mushrooms and experiencing a hallucinatory dream-like state full of animations and other entrancing visuals. In a press release, the brothers mentioned how their latest ‘Screw Loose’ song was written one night in Los Angeles. “We were laughing throughout the whole writing process,” said Louis. “The great thing about working with our producer Dave Hammer is that he never says, ‘no’. Most of the time he just wants to take things further.”
‘Following Fools’ concludes the album with an indie-rock feel that is an airy spaced out dream. With guitar riffs that are very surf rock-inspired, the boys reflect in ‘Following Fools’ “about young people going to live shows, and that musicians can be great role models and friends to under 18s that attend their shows. And that this could potentially prevent them from ‘following fools’”, said the boys for Universal Music Publishing Group. With many lessons in this all-encompassing album, the duo finish with a strong message in ‘Following Fools’ that “when you’ve got love for you, you stop following fools.”
14 Steps To A Better You is an album full of introspective wisdom shared by brothers Oli and Louis in a series of beautifully melodic yet fierce and funky tunes. From groovy beginnings to finishing on a slower dreamy note, the brothers have displayed immense talent and growth since their early days as a small Northern Beaches band. With 14 tracks sharing many life experiences, the boys are able to create a masterwork of music and lyricism whilst all at the same time teaching us some important lessons. This album is exceptionally well written, produced, and is a blissful listen. We highly recommend. Enjoy!
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