Falling Up the Stairs

Falling Up the Stairs is the 2014 sophomore EP from Australia's Lime Cordiale. The album follows up the group's equally lively 2012 EP, Faceless Cat. Produced by Daniel Denholm, Falling Up the Stairs showcases the Sydney-based five-piece's lively mix of '70s-influenced blue-eyed soul, funk, and rock. Musically, the band favors eclectic, often groove-oriented songs that touch upon such subgenres as ska and disco. That said, while you can certainly hear Lime Cordiale working through their influences, they never ape any single band, nor do they completely give their sound over to any easily classifiable aesthetic. Just as on their first EP, on Falling Up the Stairs brothers Oli and Louis Leimbach trade off lead vocal duties. Both of them have soulful, resonant croons, with bassist Louis bringing to mind Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner and guitarist Oli registering as a more nasal Bruno Mars. There's also a '90s Brit-pop-meets-ska vibe running through much of Falling Up the Stairs, and tracks like driving leadoff single "B******t Aside" and the sultry title track have a buoyant, anything-goes quality that is very reminiscent of the frenetic screwball pop of bands like Supergrass, No Doubt, and Blur. Ultimately, with Falling Up the Stairs, Lime Cordiale just might floor you with how good they are.