Lime Cordiale Lights Up The Observatory
Photo taken by Ryan Valenzuela
Staring at the banner stretched across the stage of the North Park Observatory, you would think you were stopped off the side of a highway in the Australian bush. “Lime Cordiale” was spelled in bright green across a 1950’s billboard, illuminated by overhead lights and neon. The billboard was surrounded by red sand and red rocks like the desert wasteland of “The Road Warrior.” When the band took the stage, the banner came to life, throwing the crowd onto that strip of outback freeway, teleporting us to the band’s homeland.
Lime Cordiale is currently on their “Enough of the Sweet Talk” tour, promoting their 2024 album of the same name. Having evolved from their mid-2010 indie-rock sound, the band has learned to incorporate elements of shimmer pop and funk/fusion, aggrandizing the theatricality of their music through glimmering synths, lush strings, and diverse instrumentation; on top of that, the songwriting has developed in complexity, evident by their diverse verse structures, refrains, and instrumental embellishments.
They were supported by opening act Foxtide, who are touring their 2024 album “Chaos.” Their high-energy sound and youthful brand of serrated indie pop-rock is adjacent to The Bravery, or San Diego-locals Saint Luna. The band was introduced by the bassist, who emerged alone, playing a layered, pedal-enhanced solo that evolved into a raucous U2-like wall of rippling strings.
Photo taken by Ryan Valenzuela
Despite being only a trio, the band boasted a large and encompassing sound that filled the room faster than free booze. The chemistry between the band members was electric across their entire set, punctuated by the sweetness of their vocal harmonies and the precision of their instrumental transitions. The lead guitar had a tone adjacent to the iconic solos of the artist formerly known as Prince, but despite their great musicianship, the band was lacking in any gripping songs. The band has the talent and instinct to execute their songs exceptionally well, but the songwriting lacked personality and gumption.
Photo taken by Ryan Valenzuela
Photo taken by Ryan Valenzuela
Additionally, the frontman Elijah sang with an intentionally performative, grimy style that accentuated the vowels of every word too hard; he hit his notes perfectly, so I know he was singing like crap on purpose. Regardless, it was a solid set. The band played very proficiently and even gave out free stickers. “If you leave with one thing tonight,” said Elijah, “it’s [that] you need to help your fellow humans, alright?”
Harper Smith and her boyfriend Travis came to see Lime Cordiale but were impressed by Foxtide. “We came for Lime Cordiale, but loved [Foxtide],” she said. “We had a great time, it was awesome.” After a short break, Lime Cordiale promptly took the stage. Led by brothers Oliver and Louis Lembauch, the five-man band erupted on the stage like 70s-era rockstars. Rocking Richenbacher guitars and denim skinny jeans, the pair looked like young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Photo taken by Ryan Valenzuela
Photo taken by Ryan Valenzuela
The band was greeted by a passionate crowd, most of whom burst into singing from the very first note. Consisting primarily of couples that looked right out of high school, the crowd sang with fervor to the band’s old and new songs; from the look of the audience, most of the early material must have come out when they were in middle school; the energy radiated a vibe of ‘harmless underage drinking.’
The brothers displayed calculated showmanship, rewarding their crowd with whole-hearted interactions and fun audience engagement. Across the first half of their set, they split the audience against each other, demanding we throw middle fingers at each other, vying to be called, “the coolest side of the room.” This escalation finally erupted when the brothers changed into boxing robes and went fist-for-fist, their punch-out devolving into a wrestling match of suggestive sex positions.
The band played all their songs faithfully to the recordings, whipping out all sorts of instruments like a kazoo and a clarinet, but never straying too far from the script. Although the songs and performances felt generic, and the songwriting was adjacent to the 2010’s era rock-pop like lovelytheband or Foster the People, the songs were performed well and with enthusiasm. As they played, a projector brought their banner to life, and for a moment, it felt as if we were all on that Australian highway, just watching a local Aussie rock band.
While nothing about the set screamed “ground-breaking,” it was an all-around homey and well-executed performance. The band is scheduled to continue their tour in Australia across this spring and return to San Diego, June 10, for a show at the Rady Shell.
Photo taken by Ryan Valenzuela
