I first learned of the French psych-rock giants The Limiñanas when they teamed up with Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre to form L’Épée and put out an outstanding record, Diabolique, in 2019. I had no idea that the band had been around since at least 2010. I’d been looking for some of their music for a while in physical form, and ended up finding their two-CD collection, Electrified, in a record store in Edinburg, Scotland.
Starting with “Migas 2000,” Lionel Limiñana‘s fuzzy guitar riffs grab your attention right away and have you dancing like you’re an extra on Shindig. Marie Limińana‘s drums on “I’m Dead” pound out a hip-shaking beat you can’t ignore and (former Les Bellas bandmate) Nadége Figueroa‘s playful vocals about death are just delightful. “Je Ne Suis Pas Très Drogue” (“I Am Not Very into Drugs / Very High”) is so trippy that you think they’re probably lying. Lionel’s guitar sounds like a buzzsaw on “Down Underground,” and Mu‘s guest vocals on “Je Suis une Go-Go Girl” hypnotize you straight away.
Lionel sings lead on “La Fille de la Ligne 15” (“The Woman on Line 15”), in which he laments about seeing her each day and wondering who she is and if he has enough bravery to finally speak with her. The looping synths on “Je M’en Vais” (“I Am Leaving”) combine with a bouzouki to transport your brain out of your head.
“Wind is blowing, black cloud approaching. I remember nothing when I think of you,” Figueroa sings on the sultry and slightly snarky “Salvation.” The band poke fun at themselves and one of their biggest genre influences on “Votre Coté Yéyé M’emmerde” (“Your Yéyé Annoys Me”). Marie’s vocals on “Cold Was the Ground” are breathy, sexy, and, of course, sad as she sings about missing her lover as one of them is on the other side of the veil. Lionel’s bass groove on “My Black Sabbath” is super-slick. I love that they have a song (and instrumental, no less) called “Carnival of Souls,” and that it’s full of weird organ riffs by Pascal Comelade – which you know makes perfect sense if you’re a fan of the film of the same name. The slow, quiet groove of “El Beach” will have you playing it every time you come back from a late night swim. “Prisunic” takes us down to the “Dime Store” and encourages us to hang out with all the weirdos there. “Dahlia Rouge” starts off with a low motorcycle rumble and then bounces into a playful yé-yé tune.
The last three tracks on disc one (Yes, all of the above-mentioned songs are just on one CD) are all team-ups. The first, “Garden of Love,” features none other than Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook, whose trademark crisp bass lines are all over the track. “Istanbul Is Sleepy” has The Brian Jonestown Massacre‘s Anton Newcombe on lead vocals and guitar for a powerful psych-track with a great beat from Marie. Mr. Hook returns on the last track of Disc One – “The Gift.” It’s a lovely track with slight goth and shoegaze touches.
The team-ups continue through most of Disc Two, starting with French actress, model, and signer Emmanuelle Seigner (who would later go on to form L’Épée with them and Newcombe) on the groovy and slightly gritty “Shadow People.” “Dimanche” (“Sunday”) with French actor and singer Bertrand Belin is hypnotizing and somewhat sinister. Speaking of French singers and musicians, French 1980s synthpop star Étienne Daho joins them on “Blood Circle,” singing in English about a tale of what appears to be murder or a tragic accident. Spanish siren / vixen Nuria contributes sexy vocals to “Calentita” (“Warm”), which, as far as I can tell, is about getting high and seeing funky phantoms.
French DJ Laurent Garnier adds house beats to Mr. and Mrs. Limiñana’s spooky pych jams to great effect on “Saul.” “USA Motorbike” (with film composer David Menke) is a great psych-instrumental. I’d take a whole record of stuff like that. Areski Belkacem has been making music and comedy since at least the late 1960s, and here he is co-creating trippy psych-jams on “La Musique.”
“Les Hommes et les Ombres” (“The Men and the Shadows”) is a cool Ennio Morricone-influenced instrumental with neat guitar work, and the following instrumental, “Domino,” (with Golden Bug) throbs with synth-bass and industrial hisses for a wild contrast between the two tracks. A third instrumental track, “Pulsing,” reunites The Limiñanas with David Menke for a growling, snarling, guitar-driven instrumental that has fuzz chords mingling with weird synths and sci-fi sounds.
The last seven tracks are all from the first group Mr. and Mrs. Limiñana were in – Les Bellas – a psych-rock group they had along with guitarist Giom Picard and vocalist / trumpeter Figuerola that was active from about 2003 to 2007. The tracks are a great addition here. “Hey I’m Going Down” sounds like it could’ve been a lost Dum Dum Girls track with it’s fierce beats and 60s garage rock guitars. “She’s on My Track” is a perfect slice of 60s girl group vocals and wall of sound fuzz. “A Dream That Sleeps” mixes rock and surf guitar with heavy organ riffs and Figuerola’s trumpet taking on a great solo.
The title track of this collection comes from a Les Bellas song, and it has a snappy post-punk edge to it that punches hard. Marie Limiñana’s beats on “You Got My Soul” roll back and forth between subtle and smashing. “Drown” mixes sexy vocals with psych-guitar riffs, Spanish trumpet blares, and almost Styx-like synths. The collection ends with the title track from Les Bellas’ lone album, “Belladellic,” a playful, fuzzy yé-yé track that reminds me of a cute kitten playing with you one moment and shredding your hand the next,
It’s a fun collection of rock that will instantly make you feel cooler and make people ask, “Where did you find this?” when you play it.
Keep your mind open.
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