Costa Blanca

All the key influences and ingredients are here for the ultimate French hipster duo of drummer and occasional vocalist Marie Liminana and multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Liminana—plus their guest vocalists—to deliver on what their image and reputation promise. Names such as Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Luc Godard, Tindersticks, Ennio Morricone, The Velvet Underground, and many more from the art-pop side of life are dropped in context with this ever-evolving duo. Their music can be described as a mix of garage rock, French pop, and French ye-ye, with elements of psychedelia, spy films, and French new wave references. The seductive spells behind “Votre Cote Yeye M’emmerde,” “Rosas,” “La Melancolie,” and “Liverpool” are made from a mix of impressive sounds juxtaposed surprisingly so. Would one expect a Middle Eastern vibe to permeate a British port town like “Liverpool”? Loud buzzy guitars hardly seem appropriate when a romantic vibe builds its tension, yet it’s near perfect when it hits during *Costa Blanca*—the duo’s third (and most expansive) album to date. Songs stretch beyond two or three minutes, even when the vibe is back to basics (“Bb”). 

The Liminañas' third album, 2013's Costa Blanca, finds the French duo making some subtle renovations to their sound, bringing in some new elements that help to expand the tightly focused sound of their previous work.

Despite their origins under the warm sun of southern France, The Limiñanas’ music arrives shivering with sang-froid; a sense of louche detachment permanently embedded in their mesmeric grooves. Take the deadpan Votre Coté Yéyé M'Emmerde – knowingly and addictively kitsch, radiating an urgency that somehow manages to sound like The Velvet Underground copped their best poses from Stereolab rather than the other way round.

Perpignan duo the Limiñanas go back to French pop's 1960s golden age, writes <strong>Hermione Hoby</strong>