Lime Garden are balancing excitement and nerves as they step into the release of their second album. With ‘Maybe Not Tonight’ arriving very soon indeed, the Brighton four-piece are standing at the edge of a proper step forward, buzzing with anticipation and trying, as Leila Deeley puts it, “to stay grounded amongst it all”.
Right now, that grounding looks like learning Talking Heads covers for a David Byrne-themed night, cycling around town and heading to a local jazz spot. “I’m not trying to sound insufferable,” she adds, quickly, before admitting it really is just that good.
They are also feeling unusually optimistic about the year ahead. 2026, according to the band, is the Chinese year of the horse, which has become something of a guiding philosophy. “Last year was the year of the snake, shedding and letting go, etc., which we all most definitely experienced,” Leila says. “In 2026, we’re feeling fully prepared, and like we’ve put in the groundwork personally and professionally to charge like stallions.” The enthusiasm is unfiltered and impossible to miss. “The year of the horse,” she adds, “also the year of the shred.”
That sense of arrival did not come quickly. Work on ‘Maybe Not Tonight’ began around two years ago, during a period that Leila describes as experimental but also uncertain. Early sessions were loose, exploratory, and sometimes frustrating. “We were just spitballing freely without too many parameters,” she says. “It was hard to locate what the album was meant to be. I suppose we were putting a lot of pressure on having it all figured out prematurely.” In hindsight, that time was essential, if only to eliminate what the record was not supposed to become.
Everything clicked once songs like ‘Maybe Not Tonight’ and ‘23’ emerged. “We were all like, okay, I see where this is going,” she says. “The questions we held for a year and a bit seemed to be answered overnight.” From there, the emotional core of the album snapped into focus. “It’s essentially just a hard and fast memo of feel what you feel intensely and honestly, own the stupid things you’ve done, and live and enjoy your life.”
That memo was written in the aftermath of what the band have described as a collective mass breakup. All four members found themselves navigating emotional upheaval at the same time, which inevitably seeped into the writing. Weekly sessions became a constant. “There was something really grounding about our regular Tuesdays spent together writing, and screaming and crying at points,” Leila says. “There was definitely a medicine to it.” The album now stands as a timestamp, capturing the lessons learned in that period. “It stamps the moment in time,” she explains. “It’s fun and empowering listening to it from a different place and feeling the full circle of it all.”
Lyrically, the record grapples with body image, self-worth and the creeping unease of your mid-twenties. For vocalist and lyricist Chloe Howard, songwriting remains instinctive and deeply personal. “Songwriting and lyric writing have always been a way to quiet my mind,” she says. “I sort of write down whatever comes to me on that day without any thought.” From that daily, almost ritualistic process, themes begin to surface. “Writing lyrics and poetry is a lifeline for me at this point. I think I will be doing it till the day I die. It’s become a daily ritual more important than an apple a day, I reckon.”
“It’s bolder, wiser, braver”
As a group, making ‘Maybe Not Tonight’ marked a shift in confidence. Priorities changed, boundaries strengthened, and musically, the band allowed themselves more freedom. For Leila, that meant embracing bolder guitar parts and sharper textures. “The guitars are so much more free, bolder, chunkier, more feedback, and more brash and spikey on this record, which I love,” she says. That confidence was tied closely to personal growth. “I was in a place of really trying to learn to embrace the positives of anger and learn to stick up for myself more at the time. I like that this comes through in the record.”
The album is also built around a concept that revealed itself almost accidentally. During sessions, drummer Annabel Whittle drew a bell curve mapping the emotional arc of a night out, placing tracks along it. “It blew our minds,” Leila says. Side A captures anticipation and excitement, while Side B spirals into insecurity and emotional fallout. “Seeing your ex with someone else at said party, bringing up all of your insecurities and crying on the way home, wondering if you’ll ever be able to love anyone else again,” she explains, before laughing at the drama of it all. “A painful yet very relatable experience, we hope.”
If there is one thing no one warns you about your mid twenties, according to Lime Garden, it is how suddenly lost you can feel. “The cockiness from adolescence wears off,” Leila says. “You go through one breakup and are like, where am I, who even am I, and what am I even doing?” Experiencing that confusion simultaneously brought the band closer. “We could understand each other very well, and maybe not feel as insane through sharing our similar experiences.”
Balancing that emotional intensity with touring and day jobs proved to be the biggest challenge. “Definitely figuring out the message we wanted to convey all the while balancing it with working and touring,” Leila says, laughing at the realities of indie band life. But the end result feels worth it. She hopes the album surprises people. “Lyrically and musically it’s bolder, wiser, braver,” she says. “Annabel has really added a harder, braver electronic flavour which has levelled up our sound to the max.” Chloe’s performances, she adds, were often goosebump-inducing. “It makes you feel like you’re hearing all of her secrets, perhaps ones you shouldn’t have overheard.”
Looking ahead, the ambitions are big but heartfelt. Tokyo remains a dream. Glastonbury Pyramid Stage, naturally, is on the list. In the meantime, the band are deep in unexpected obsessions, from beekeeping to ice hockey. “I can’t stop researching beekeeping,” Leila says. “There’s something so interesting about how those little guys instinctually work together in community; it’s genius.” As a band, though, their current fixation is firmly elsewhere. “Ice hockey is well and truly on the mind,” she laughs. “We went to a game in London the other day for Chloe’s surprise birthday, it was epic. They even played ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ by Guns N’ Roses at one point. It all felt very theatrical and dramatic and showbiz, which we of course enjoyed.”
What Lime Garden want most right now is simple. They are touring extensively this year, and they want people in the room. “We will be very tired, very satisfied and proud and tired,” Leila says. “Come see us play. Rock is alive.”
Lime Garden’s album ‘Maybe Not Tonight’ is out 10th April.
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