Stab Recommends: Lime Cordiale, Two Surfy Brothers Who Make Breezy, Intricate Pop Music

Whilst fully aware of the fortunate situation that we as a country have found ourselves in during lockdown, Morning of the Earth take II has begun to wear a tad thin.

There’s only so much surfing, fishing and yoga that one can take, and even though the pubs are technically open, there’s a gaping hole in the after hour meanderings, and that’s live music. Lime Cordiale, a Sydney two piece consisting of Northern Beaches brothers Oli and Louis Leimbach, are about to drop a new album (the latest single, Screw Loose you can listen to up top) of breezy summer anthems, and admit that, whilst the time to breathe throughout lockdown was welcome, now they’re itching to get out there and play the songs as they were intended: live and loud.

The brothers Leimbach exploring with space and time.

“It’s been pretty nice to be full domesticated humans for a while,” Louis tells me over the phone from their beaches HQ. “We haven’t been home for this long in six or seven years, but yeah, it would be awesome to be playing shows right now. We’ve had two American tours and a European tour cancelled, but everyone’s in the same boat.” The boys have been riding a wave of momentum from the release of their debut album Permanent Vacation in 2017 up to the time that the world shut down, perhaps most significantly, signing with Aussie industry heavy weights Chugg Music, and London Cowboys, Post Malone’s music management company.

Hard to fault a pair of Sydney lads who’ve survived a night at Coffs Harbour’s notorious Hoey Moey,

Despite currently having the music industry swooning, Louis’s voice lights up when we start talking surf. The brothers live together, and after growing up in Avalon, have re-located to the Narrabeen area. I mention that the locals aren’t renowned for being the most welcoming mob north of the bridge (North Narrabeen Boardriders’s infamous tagline is/was the brilliant: “Narrabeen Hates YOU”) and Louis laughs. “Yeah I’ve got pretty bad surfer’s ear and have to wear earplugs,” he says. “I sit away from everyone, shove those deep and pretend I’m deaf.”

Beaches brothers Louis (left), and Oli (Right).

Lime Cordiale’s sophomore album 14 Steps to A Better You (an admittedly tongue in cheek nod to self help, which Louis admits “we need as much as anyone”) was slated for release at the end of last year, but as it’s panned out, has only begun to be seeped out now. Louis says that the extra time to work on dotting i’s and crossing t’s has been welcome, avoiding the usual release deadline stress. “It got pushed back six months, and it was a blessing that we could get all this material, clips and singles ready to go,” he says. Before adding, “And, it’s not all songs about isolation.”

A familiar scene up and down the coast during the new normal.

You have to feel for a band who’ve had all the hard work they’ve put into building up to something put on hold, but Louis remains philosophical about their future. When we speak they’re on the verge of playing 16 shows in one week at Oxford Arts Factory. But instead of playing to 400+ a night, it’ll be a sit down, 80 heads at a time affair. Thus the ludicrous number of gigs in seven days. “We’re hoping it’ll be a New York jazz club kind of vibe, but it might be really awkward,” he says. “Still, playing in the future looks pretty bright. There’s word of festivals happening later in the year. And, we’ve just bought this boat for 500 bucks so we can whip over and surf (insert northern beaches/central coast badly kept secret spot here).”

Lime Cordiale’s second album 14 Steps to a Better You will be released on July 10, available at all the regular places.