Lime Cordiale: Brothers bring the magic back

The cold treatment from Melbourne did not stop the Australian indie band from delivering mid-week acoustics to celebrate the release of their latest album. The Burne's Afia Khan was there.

As the first Australian artist to hold a number one album this year, Lime Cordiale treated 300 fans to a small intimate gig at one of Australia’s oldest pubs, The Curtin.

Formed by Sydney brothers Louis and Oli Leimbach in 2009, the band have toured in capital cities across the east coast to celebrate the release of their third studio album Enough of This Sweet Talk released in late July. 

After escaping the freezing cold, fans headed up the stairs to the band room where you’d see dimmed stage lights, cans of Lime Cordiale’s branded, carbon-neutral beer Largo, and empty glasses placed all over bar tables. With doors opening at 6pm, fans had the chance to get a custom printed shirt before catching opening act Lola Scott. 

Wearing thermals, the band sat on the stage with a microphone and a guitar, and started off the set with a bit of housekeeping. This was followed by a collective singing of the bridge in their 2016 hit Waking Up Easy. 

The setlist ranged from long-time hits like Dirt Cheap and Robbery’ as well as new singles The Big Reveal; Ou L’Hypocrite, Country Club and Colin. 

The night was filled with buzzling melodies that levitated lovers and mourners alike, casual conversations about the meaning of life and about the poem they received from Men at Work’s Colin Hay. 

The band finished their set with Facts of Life.

The band stayed back for two hours after the show to greet fans and sign their records and tattoos. 

Fans like Kasey find these small, intimate gigs fun.

“They really care about their fanbase,” she says.

While most people know them as the guys that sing Robbery, Lime Cordiale are setting a goal to beat their 2020 single as the number one song. 

“If we’re 80 years old, you’re still looking at our Spotify and Robbery is at the top, then we’re failures,” Oli said. 

The brothers did a Q&A with the audience about the inspiration behind the album and shared anecdotes about the album-making process.

The band shared the insider scoop of the album-making process by sharing their initial concepts of the album.   

Kara drove two hours into the city to see the band. 

“I would travel to London for them, I’m honestly a huge fan,” she said.

Enough of the Sweet Talk is the band's third album and traces a relationship in chronological order -- strangers to lovers to enemies and then back to strangers.

“We're two brothers writing about different experiences over the years, and we wanted it to feel like one concise relationship. But each song is about a different person and a different experience,” said Oli. 

Louis explained his design of the album cover.  

“I went up the coast [of NSW] and made this big collage album, not something I've done before,” he said. "It was the most stressful nine days of my entire life.” 

A week after its release, Enough of the Sweet Talk topped the ARIA Album Charts.

The Rolling Stone rate it 5 stars for its “swaggering groove and mournful rawness”, and triple J described it as a “true-to-form offering” of their music style.

The band have been working on the album since the release of Facts of Life in 2022.

“Everyone’s like, ‘What the fuck? There's like five songs on this album that have already been released'," said Louis.

"Well yeah. You know half the album so you've only got another half to go.”

The album starts off on a Pedestal continuing along with The Milkman and the Facts of Life, before stopping for The Big Reveal; Ou L’Hypocrite. After their third cue, they proceed with the Cold Treatment before declaring that Love Is Off The Table, finally leaving as Strangers.

Sustainability is really important to the band. 

At the show, the band collaborated with Savers to bring upcycled tees for their live screen printing which cost $7 with a digital album download and an exclusive screen print collectable artwork card designed by Louis himself. 

The Leimbachs said there needs to be more government funding for the arts. 

“People are going to Taylor Swift and Fred Again…. so they’re definitely willing to go out,” said Oli. 

The band are starting their European summer tour in Germany on August 18 then coming back to home soil in October for their Australian tour.