The Limiñanas - Chalk Brighton

My first visit to Chalk - a neat, small venue just off the bottom of the Steine in Brighton. A long bar and friendly staff create a good vibe, but an early evening start required as the venue reverts to a late night club after  bands have played earlier in the evening. This was  one of the final dates of The Limiñanas’ tour supporting their most recent album Faded. The album features  guest vocals from Bobby Gillespie but no surprise appearance from the from Primal Scream frontman. But anyway he was not needed, The Limiñanas are just fantastic, and this is the best gig I have seen in a long time. For those not familiar with the band they are from the South of France but  influences come from all over, and they tend to work collaboratively with a revolving cast of musicians and fellow travellers. Their music draws influences from the Velvet Underground, Stooges, Hendrix and various other drug fuelled psychedelic outfits from the past maybe mixed with  early The Cure and The Cramps. Whilst not  trip hop or reggae influenced - drawing their inspiration instead from  rock music, they  remind me a lot of  Massive Attack, with slow throbbing bass lines that start off quietly  gradually become more and more insistent driving all the other instruments forward, louder, sharper with guitars swirling above the now dominant  bass. Vocals in French and English are used sparingly or not at all. The effect is symphonic the  gradual bringing together and combining of all the different elements into one  beautifully mesmerising wall of sound, driven still by the all conquering engine-room  bass which will not  put you down until the climax of each piece. They really are more like pieces of aural art than  individual songs. A further  nod to Massive Attack are 3 large screens behind them playing a visually stunning graphic backdrop totally aligned to the pace and mood of the  performance. A brilliant  gig not easily forgotten. You can check out the Limiñanas here.