In the 12 months that I’ve been writing for Happy, there’s been a name conspicuously missing from the (now rather unweildy) database of bands, artists and producers catalogued in this monte carlo tome of a music blog. That name is Lime Cordiale, and it’s about bloody time we gave them an article.
Time to get started on that summertime playlist – here’s a gem from the back end of last summer that should be on the list: Lime Cordiale’s Falling Up The Stairs EP.
As we speak, I’m writing this article from the foyer of Sydney Uni’s main library, using a borrowed login code because I’ve just moved into an apartment that is apparently off the national internet grid. Why am I telling you this? It was here, at this now disturbingly conservative and cigarette free campus that I first saw Lime Cordiale – performing a semi-acoustic set in a tent on the north side of the quadrangle green. I was young, I was foolish, and the fact that I’d been accepted into USYD inflated my pretensions and prejudices against handsome blonde men playing acousticy, rootsy music.
Four years later, I’ve grown up a little, and holy shit have Lime Cordiale grown up a lot. Their latest offering, the pleasantly succinct Falling Up The Stairs will sound rather familiar to anyone familiar with the band’s bygone singles, while also opening the band’s sound up to those who have been out of the loop (like me). A production budget larger than $100 and a shedload of live performances have certainly done this band some favours, the songwriting, lyricism and newfound curvature of the band’s recorded sound being the primary evidence.
Bullshit aside, track one (Bullshit Aside) showcases broadstroke harmonies across the board, a tasteful amount of synthesiser and a cool little delay trick that managed to put a smile on my dial at this ungodly hour of 8:45 (in the morning). Like a good honest pop song, it doesn’t fuck around much either – by the final chorus the song has arrived neatly at it’s destination, in surprisingly epic proportions. There is certainly scope for the track to have been much longer, revelling in this communal musical bliss, but I guess it just forces you to listen to it again to get that same hit.
Contrast this track with Sleeping At Your Door, which sounds, no offence intended, like a Triple J ‘just add water’ hit single (and I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if I haven’t heard this one being pumped at my local more than once). Head bopping rhythms, some naughty upper register vocals and the odd dirty word is probably what’s giving me this impression, and it feels just as at home on a miserable, humid October morning as it did back in the tail end of summer when it was first released.
Contrast again with title track Falling Up The Stairs, which is classic Lime Cordiale. Upstrokes, wah pedal, nigh on spoken word musings, the kind of bassline that brings to mind the smell of a combusted sativa strain in the air and the never unwelcome brass solo. Of all the tracks, the dub influence shines through strongest throughout Falling Up The Stairs, and it’s almost a shame that it doesn’t go full Fat Freddy. Like I said previously, the accessibility of this EP is it’s strongest point and also one of it’s few weaknesses, but it’s safe to say that the shadow of pop-music mastering that hangs behind Falling Up The Stairs gives it a relatively unique feel (considering the state of most local dub/roots records today).
Now why are we bringing this record up now, so long after it’s release? So often we remember what we did last summer (unless your summer was a particularly good one) but alas not what we listened to, as if this generation’s brains have been fried by all this information overload (Gen Y with a low attention span? Get out!). There should always be a scope for revisiting our playlists and mixtapes from summers gone by, even if that summer was only 9 or so months ago. Further, if you haven’t heard the latest from Lime Cordiale, this EP is the perfect introduction to a band that are only continuing their rise to fame and fortune, what with Michael Chugg‘s sack of dubloons funding a US launch this year.
Not only do we wholeheartedly recommend giving Falling Up The Stairs a decent spot on this years summer playlist, but we also strongly suggest you catch one of the band’s upcoming shows – the next being at JAM Gallery in Bondi as part of JAWS this Friday (24th October). In case you hadn’t heard, the weekly event is making quite a splash, and props go to them for showcasing and supporting some of Sydney’s best new music. Entry is free and the pub next door does hella sweet burgers.
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