Here's just some of our favourite singles, compilation albums and reissues of 2025...

1. The Blue Aeroplanes "Magical Realism The Best of 1985-2025" compilation LP
2. Mozart Estate "Tower Block In a Jam Jar" compilation LP
3. KVNX (Kathy Valentine & Neal X) "I Love You More" single
4. Patti Smith "Horses" 50th anniversary reissue LP
5. Thee Moot "Sweet As Saccharine" single
6. Francoise Hardy "Voila - Best of" compilation LP
7. The Limiñanas & Bobby Gillespie "Prisoner of Beauty" single
8. Bo-Gumbos "Bo & Gumbo" reissue LP
9. The Dear Boys "Put It Down" single
10. The Fall "50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong" compilation reissue LP
11. The Baby Seals "Tamoo Trance" single
12. The Galileo 7 "Everything To Everything Else" compilation LP
13. R.E.M. "Radio Free Europe" reissue EP
14. Viagra Boys "Consistency of Energy/Call of The Wild" reissue EP
15. Cast with P.P. Arnold "Poison Vine" single
16. The Blue Aeroplanes "Outsider Art, The Other Best of 1985-2025" compilation LP
17. The Penrose Web "It's The Penrose Web" EP
18. The Duke Spirit "Cuts Across The Land" reissue LP
19. The Skids "Radio Sessions 1978-1980" compilation LP
20. The Guy Hamper Trio with James Taylor "Chatham's Burning" EP
21. Jamie Perrett "Age of Reason" single
22. Killer China Dress "Kung Fu Attack" single
23. The 5.6.7.8's with Ludella Black "Beat Girls" EP
24. The Embrooks "Terry and Julie" single
25. The Galileo 7 "Look Away" single

Retro Man Blog's 25 Favourite Albums of 2025

Happy New Year to all Retro Man Blog supporters, subscribers and contributors. Here's our favourite 25 Albums of 2025, another great year for new music...

1. The Liminanas "Faded"

2 . Mandrake Handshake "Earth Sized Worlds"

3. The Minus 5 "Oar On, Penelope

4. WitchDoktors "Izzatso?"

5. Viagra Boys "Viagr Aboys"

6. David Byrne "Who Is The Sky?"

7. WITCH "Sogolo" 

8. Oh! Gunquit "Flex"

9. Sparks "MAD!"

10. The Penrose Web "The Least of Our Concerns"

11. Spiders "Sharp Objects"

12. Jetstream Pony "Bowerbirds and Blue Things"

13. Stereolab "Instant Holograms On Metal Film"

14. The Hives "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives"

15. Robert Forster "Strawberries"

16. The Guy Hamper Trio "Volume IV: The Goddess Tree"

17. Luke Haines & Peter Buck "Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind"

18. The Phobics "Gimme Cyanide"

19. Pink Nun "Pink Nun"

20. John McKay's Reactor "Sixes And Sevens"

21. The Capellas "Untamed"

22. MIEN "MIIEN"

23. Palooka 5 "MetroKino"

24. Paper Lips "Melodic Melancholic"

25. Proper "Meant To Say Something"

The Limiñanas - "Faded" LP Launch at Rough Trade East, February 26th

The Limiñanas were back in London at Rough Trade East to promote their excellent new LP "Faded" with an hour long set followed by a signing session. The line-up has changed since their last visit with new vocalist Thomas Gorman from Kill The Young and bassist Clémence Lasme joining the familiar guitarist and keyboard player Alban Barate alongside of course, Marie and Lionel Limiñana. I must admit that personally, it was a shame that Mickael, Renaud and in particular, the unique Ivan Telefunken are no longer performing with the band, but rather like a football team, Marie and Lionel are constantly changing and evolving the line-up and Tom and Clémence fitted in very well. The band played a mixed selection of songs which surprisingly only included a few tracks from the new album, instead they treated us to a kind of 'greatest hits' including "Shadow People", "Down Underground", "The Gift" and "Istanbul Is Sleepy" and a searing cover of The Cramps "TV Set". New album "Faded" is a return to the more familiar trademark Limiñanas sound following their more dance-orientated collaboration with DJ Laurent Garnier on the "De Pelicula" album. So it's back to the fuzzed-up guitar chords, hypnotic motorik Krautrock drums, cinematic Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western atmospheres all mixed up with 60's French Yé-yé Pop and grungey Garage Rock 'n' Roll. There's also an eclectic roll call of special guests including Keith Streng from The Fleshtones, Jon Spencer from the Blues Explosion, Anna Jean from Juniore, Pascal Comelade, David Menke, Bertrand Belin and Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream on the brilliant single "Prisoner of Beauty". Here are some photos and videos from the Rough Trade event. 

The Limiñanas will play at the Electric Ballrom in Camden on Saturday April 12th, you can get tickets from the venue here. You can check out our features with photos and videos from their last two previous London shows at the Scala Kings Cross and The 100 Club in the archive. Our Retrosonic Podcast episode "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us" in which I look at their some of their many and varied cover versions, influences, side projects and early bands and collaborations is available at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes or direct from our Retrosonic Podcast Soundcloud site below.

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 37 "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us"

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Favourite Albums of 2023

First of all I'd like to sincerely thank all the Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast subscribers, contributors and people who have kindly offered encouragement and assistance along the way in the past year, thank you for your support, it is very much appreciated. As always, we would encourage you to check out the highlighted links below to also add your support to the many fantastic, bands, artists and record labels that we have featured in 2023. You can hear tracks from many of the bands in various epiosdes of Retrosonic Podcast which are all available in our archives at Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and iTunes - if you are not already, please like, subscribe and share to help spread the news about the great new music that is being released. Have a wonderful New Year and let's hope 2024 brings us even more superb sounds! 

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Pick of 2023 Albums

1. def.fo "Eternity"

Despite only being released on December 15th - this perfectly plotted debut album from the Liverpool based Tom Powell shot straight into our Number 1 slot. The immediacy of the melodies, the rich production, insistent riffs and hooks and timeless genre-defying sound made it an immediate hit. Tom has been ably assisted by a superb cast of contributors including Tom's 'day job boss' in The Red Elastic Band, Mick Head, Chris Geddes from Belle & Sebastian and Tom's Dad, the guitarist and producer, Steve Powell. "Eternity" is a masterclass in songwriting of the highest order. You can hear Tom talking about the concept behind def.fo in our special Retrosonic Podcast here.

Retrosonic Podcast · Tom Powell of Def.fo and Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band

2. Jim Jones All Stars "Ain't No Peril"

Absolutely blistering album from the fomer Hypnotics, Jim Jones Revue and Righteous Mind frontman and his new all action outfit. Somehow "Ain't No Peril" manages to capture the intense energy of the band's live performances in it's grooves and the album screams out Gospel, Garage Rock, Soul and downright raw Rock 'n' Roll.

3. Lalalar "En Kötü Iyi Olur"

Taking Turkish Psychedelia and mixing it with modern day Electronica and Dance beats along with some hugely inventive guitar playing - this Istanbul-based trio produced one of the most striking and original albums of 2023.

4. Jah Wobble "A Brief History of Now" (featuring Jon Klein)

Jah Wobble got together with former Specimen and Siouxsie & The Banshees guitarist Jon Klein to release this stunning album which sees a return to the angular Post-Punk sound of Public Image Ltd with trademark bubbling bass and Klein's scathing guitar work.

5. Wingmen "Wingmen"

A collaboration featuring Baz Warne of The Stranglers, Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC, Paul Fox of The Damned, Marty Parrott of the Johnny Moped Band and Rob Coombes of Supergrass might have signalled a new tribute act to themselves - but bravely they avoided any notion of nostalgia and released a quite magnificent collection of all new original material. The always entertaining Leigh Heggarty joined me to discuss Wingmen and how it all came about in this great episode of Retrosonic Podcast.

Retrosonic Podcast · Leigh Heggarty on Wingmen and Ruts DC

6. Sparks "The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte"

The Mael Brothers continued their remarkable 50-plus year musical journey with this great album packed full of their usual wit, originality and inventive songwriting.

7. Pascal Comelade & The Limiñanas "Boom Boom"

A hypnotic and atmospheric collaboration between the avant garde musician Pascal Comelade and our favourite fuzzed-up French duo Lionel and Marie Limiñana.

8. The Blue Aeroplanes "Culture Gun"

Released not long before the terribly sad news of guitarist Angelo Bruschini's passing - this album is simply one of the best of the Bristol based collective's long musical history. Poet/Vocalist Gerard Langley's half-spoken delivery is complemented by the vocal harmonies and contributions of his revolving line-up of collaborators and band-mates.

9. Iggy Pop "Every Loser"

Merging the best of all aspects of Iggy's repertoire from foul-mouthed 100 miles an hour rockers like "Frenzy" to the crooning baritone of "Strung Out Johnny", this album has it all - if you love Iggy you'll love "Every Loser".

10. The Skids "Destination Dusseldorf"

Harnessing all the trademark Skids tricks that I've loved since seeing the high-kicking Richard Jobson and his Dunfermline gang on Top of The Pops as a kid. The huge, stadium sized choruses, ringing guitar and Jobbo's impassioned vocals are all present and correct in this fantastic collection of new material.

11. The Hives "The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons"

The Swedish Garage Rock legends returned with their first album since 2012 and it's their strongest to date for sure, a swaggering beast of a record. New outfits, new bassist but same attitude and energy, proving they were always far more than a cartoon act.

12. The Brian Jonestown Massacre "The Future Is Your Past"

The run of superb albums from The Brian Jonestown Massacre over the past few years continued with this excellent collection of songs that came in a colour-your-own album sleeve complete with BJM crayons, genius! 

13. Fake Names "Expendables"

Dennis Lyxzén from The (International) Noise Conspiracy and Refused teamed up with members of some of his favourite American Punk bands such as Minor Threat, Bad Religion, S.O.A., Fugazi and Girls Against Boys to release this melodic tour de force, building on the promise of their self-titled 2020 debut album. Check out out thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast with Dennis where he discusses how Fake Names came about and other aspects of his fascinating musical career.

Retrosonic Podcast · Dennis Lyxzén of Refused, Fake Names and The (International) Noise Conspiracy

14. Gina Birch "I Play My Bass Loud"

One of the founding members of the Raincoats, Gina Birch released this great album bursting with fresh and inventive ideas tinged with Reggae and Electronica. "Wish I Was You" ranks up there among the very best songs of the year.

15. The Damned "Darkedelic"

There's no doubting that for me personally, the return of bassist Paul Gray reignited my love for The Damned and if you liked the 60's Garage Rock nuggets of their alter-ego Naz Nomad and the "Strawberries" and "Black Album" era, then "Darkedelic" will be right up your street (of dreams...). The news that Rat Scabies will be back behind the drum-kit makes 2024 a very exciting year for fans of the band.

16. Shonen Knife "Our Best Place"

The Osaka based trio have been consistently releasing albums of pure buzzsaw Punk Pop joy for 40 years now but there is seemingly no let up on their cheerful worldview and tales of their favourite food and cuddly animals.

17. Melody Fields "1901"

This Swedish Psychedelic band that emerged from ashes of The Movements are fast becoming one of our favourite acts. This is a masterclass in neo-Psychedelia that almost defines the genre.

18. Vännäs Kasino "Vännäs Kasino"

It's Dennis Lyxzén again but on guitar duties this time with a fantastic album featuring his INVSN colleague Sara Almgren on vocals and a blistering collection of Punk Rock that reminds me in places of prime Dead Kennedys.

19. Altin Gün "Aşk"

Dragging the exotic strains of Turkish Anatolian Rock and Psychedelia into the present day, Altin Gün are becoming hugely popular and it's easy to see why with releases of this calibre.

20. The Jack Cades "Something New"

A kind of contemporary Garage Rock 'supergroup' featuring members of The Embrooks, Speedball Jr, The Baron Four and The Missing Souls - The Jack Cades albums just get better with each release and this memorable collection of great songs with Mike and Elsa's vocal harmonies and nods to The Velvet Underground and early Brian Jonestown Massacre. It makes you wonder just how they are going to top this one. We spoke to Mike and Elsa about some of their favourite songs and influences in this episode of Retrosonic Podcast.

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 4: Mike & Elsa of The Jack Cades

21. Ian Kay "Walk That Road Again"

Elsa from The Jack Cades' former colleague in The Missing Souls, Ian Kay, finally released his long-awaited debut solo album this year and yes, it was well worth waiting for. Ian's highly infectious Garage Soul packed full of irresistable hooks will get you in the dancing mood from the moment the needle hits the groove.

22. Gatuplan "Välkommen Till Underjorden"

Inge Johnansson, the livewire bassist with The (International) Noise Conspiracy released the second album from his band Gatuplan in 2023 and its bursting with a positive, uplifting energy cramming in all of Inge's passion for Swedish Hardcore, Punk Rock and Ska. Have a listen to the hugely likeable Inge on Gatuplan, The (International) Noise Conspiracy and some of his favourite songs and influences.

Retrosonic Podcast · Inge Johansson of Gatuplan & The (International) Noise Conspiracy

23. Rhoda Dakar "Version Girl"

A brilliant collection of lovingly curated and performed cover versions from the former Bodysnatchers vocalist, "Version Girl" also boasts stunning cover art from Pete McKee.

24. Duncan Reid & The Big Heads "And It's Goodbye From Him"

The fact that "And It's Goodbye From Him" is possibly former Boys bassist Duncan Reid's best collection of his now trademark Power Pop Punk gems makes the unexpected decision to call time on his musical career even more disappointing, but it's one hell of a way to bow out. I just had to catch up with Duncan to discuss the reasons behind his decision to pack in music suddenly and what followed was a fascinating chat on the life of a post-Brexit musician.

Retrosonic Podcast · Duncan Reid "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

25. French Boutik "Ce Je Ne Sais Quoi"

An immaculate collection of Pop Moderniste songs from the Paris based band oozing class with their high quality mix of Indie, Ye-Ye, Soul and 60's Pop.

Bubbling under... 

Ian Person "Autoimmune", Galen & Paul "Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?", Per Svensson "Magic Trip", The Coral "Sea of Mirrors", Holiday Ghosts "Absolute Reality", Ruts DC "ElectrAcoustic Vol. 2", The Bug Club "Rare Birds: Hour of Song", Popincourt "We Were Bound To Meet", The Go! Team "Get Up Sequences Part 2", The Sound of Pop Art "Shapes & Shadows".

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 53 "Play It Cool" featuring 20 superb new releases from Jah Wobble, Pascal Comelade & The Limiñanas, Elephant Stone, Jim Jones All Stars and more...

Welcome to Episode 53 of Retrosonic Podcast, featuring 20 superb new songs by some of our favourite international Bands and Artists from as far afield as Canada, Sardinia, France, America, Sweden, Indonesia, the U.K. and Turkey. The episode is out now so please search and subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts or direct from our SoundCloud site below: 

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 53 "Play It Cool"

Tracklisting & Links

Big Boss Man "Do The Backstroke"

Jim Jones All Stars "Gimme The Grease"

Melody Fields "In Love"

Jah Wobble (featuring Jon Klein) "Fashion World"

Pascal Comelade & The Limiñanas "Le Riffifi Brille en Jaune"

Pete International Airport (featuring Rachel Goswell) "Tic Tac" (Anton Newcombe Remix)

Elephant Stone "Lost In a Dream"

Les Kitschenette's "Breuvage del Amor"

Crayola Eyes "Blacker Than Coal"

Jetstream Pony "Sixes & Sevens"

Hipbone Slim & The Kneejerks "Hey Catalina"

Gaye Su Akyol "Love Buzz"

def.fo "Play It Cool"

Spiders "Hanging On The Telephone"

Palooka 5 "Chetsworth Motel"

The Sound of Pop Art "Beach Life"

The Hangee 5 "Never Have You Ever"

Tiny Flaws (featuring Florence Joelle) "Hazy Recollection"

The Masonics "It's Time That I Moved On"

The Guy Hamper Trio "Cowboys Are Square"

Please click on the highlighted band names above for links to their official web-sites for further information and details on how to purchase the excellent music featured in this episode. For more details on our featured record label, Spinout Nuggets, please check out their official web-site here and their Bandcamp site here.

Allie Beaudouin's new book "Between It All" is available from Amazon here. You can see the live video of Allie joining dad Mick Head on stage in Tokyo for a superb version of "Broken Beauty" from the Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band album "Dear Scott" at our YouTube channel here. 

Thanks to all featured Bands and Record Companies, Lee from Spinout Nuggets, Shauna from Shameless Promotions, John Johnson and of course all listeners and subscribers. The Retrosonic Podcast archive is available at SoundCloud, Spotify, iTunes and Apple Podcasts. It would be very much appreciated if you could please like, subscribe, follow and share. Many thanks! This episode's cover star: Tom Powell of def.fo Photo Copyright: John Johnson For more details on John Johnson's excellent photography, which includes cover art for Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band, please check out his Facebook page here.

Damian O'Neill "Más o Menos" Remix E.P. featuring Remixes by The Limiñanas and Kevin Sharkey

"Más o Menos", the superb opening track to Undertones guitarist Damian O'Neill's critically acclaimed new instrumental album "An Crann, has been given the remix treatment in a new E.P.  out now on Dimple Discs Records. First of all, the fuzzed-up French band The Limiñanas' remix concentrates mainly on "Más o Menos" immediately memorable bass riff, which I always thought was reminiscent of Dave Richmond's iconic bass sound on Serge Gainsbourg's classic concept album "Histoire de Melody Nelson". Indeed, Lionel Limiñana has added new Serge and Jane Birkin style male-female spoken word verses in French that are really evocative of "Melody Nelson". He has then married this influence to the hypnotic Krautrock beats so favoured by The Limiñanas to create an atmospheric and highly evocative version. I'm extremely honoured to have been involved in some small way in getting Damian hooked up with The Limiñanas and to hear the end result of two of my favourite Artists working together, almost bought a tear to the eye! I knew Damian was, like me, a big fan of The Limiñanas and by coincidence, last year they were including a cover version of "Teenage Kicks" in their set-list. I must admit my first bit of meddling was to try and get Damian on stage with the band at the Scala in London's Kings Cross to join in with The Undertones classic but he politely declined. However, I did introduce them after the gig and then came Damian's idea of a possible remix, so he later asked to be put in touch as he could feel The Limiñanas might be able to draw something special out of "Más o Menos" and indeed they have. There's a feature on The Limiñanas' Scala Kings Cross show at the Retro Man Blog archive here.

Damian with Marie and Lionel Limiñana - Photo Retro Man Blog

Here's the video to The Limiñanas remix of "Más o Menos" which suits the theme of Lionel's narrative concerning a girl searching for the grave of Andrew Weatherall...enjoy!

Next  up, the excellent Kevin Sharkey remix draws out the Spaghetti Western influence throughout "Más o Menos", with its haunting whistling, tolling bells and thunderous timpani shot through with a stinging fuzz guitar chord. Sharkey has then married this cinematic sound to more traditional remix elements such as scratching, spiralling synth motifs and rhythmic bongo drums and the original backing vocals are much more prominent. Its like taking Ennio Moriconne's "Man With a Harmonica" to the dance floor. Both versions are superb examples of how a song can be twisted into two very different, but equally imaginative and effective takes on the original, which is also included on the E.P. for good measure. At present unfortunately, there are no physical formats available but you can buy the download from the Dimple Disc Records Bandcamp page here. For more information on all of Damian's solo projects and collaborations please check out his official web-site here.

Damian & Dimple Discs boss Brian O'Neill - photo by Retro Man Blog

For our Retrosonic Podcast special episode recorded at the "An Crann" album launch party and Q&A with Damian and journalist Ann Scanlon, please subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes or you can listen/download direct from our SoundCloud site below. You'll also find our other thoroughly entertaining episodes with Damian along with the That Petrol Emotion/Everlasting Yeah special available in the archive.

Retrosonic Podcast · Damian O'Neill Live Q&A from The Social with Ann Scanlon

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 51 "2022 You're Wondering Now" with Buddy Ascott

Welcome to Episode 51 of Retrosonic Podcast where we welcome former drummer with The Chords Buddy Ascott into the 'studio' on New Year's Eve to look back on 2022. Buddy, now playing with The Fallen Leaves, is currently writing his memoirs and he treats us to a reading from a chapter about an unfortunate incident in Guildford Civic Hall in 1979 involving The Undertones, Jimmy Pursey and some ex-Sex Pistols. He also talks about more recent gig experiences which include drumming with The 79ers as specials guests at The Vapors' weekend event at the iconic Portmeirion village, location of the cult TV show The Prisoner. Then we cover The Fallen Leaves shows at the Dublin Castle and the Don Craine tribute at the Half Moon Putney, plus we get a sneak preview of a song from the Leaves' next album. We also take a look at some of Retro Man Blog's favourite LPs, Singles, Compilations and Gigs of the year and play a selection of great tracks from The Clash with Ranking Roger, Rhoda Dakar, The Limiñanas, The Prisoners and Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band. We also announce our Band of The Year - The Undertones - for some superb gigs, their compilation "Dig What You Need", Damian O'Neill and Billy Doherty joining Baby Shakes on stage for "Teenage Kicks" and related releases such as That Petrol Emotion's stunning box-set compilation and Damian's solo album "An Crann". Then there's a more sombre look at just some of the influential musicians who sadly passed away in 2022 including Chris Bailey, Wilko Johnson, Jet Black and Terry Hall but we celebrate their legacy with music from The Saints, Dr. Feelgood, The Specials and The Stranglers. Happy New Year to you and here's looking forward to more great music in 2023, we hope you enjoy the show! Please click the highlighted links in the tracklisting below for more info on the featured Bands and Artists and how to buy their music.

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 51 "2022 You're Wondering Now" with Buddy Ascott

Tracklisting

The Undertones "Thrill Me"

That Petrol Emotion "Abandon" (Boys Own Re-Mix)

Damian O'Neill "Mas o Menos"

The Fallen Leaves "Rosalina"

The Prisoners "Better In Black"

Dr. Feelgood "Watch Your Step"

The Saints "Know Your Product"

The Stranglers "Hanging Around"

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band "Kismet"

The Limiñanas "Funeral Baby"

The Clash & Ranking Roger "Rock The Casbah"

Rhoda Dakar "The Man Who Sold The World"

The Specials "You're Wondering Now"

This episode is dedicated to the memories and music of Terry Hall, Ronnie Spector, Jet Black, Wilko Johnson, Chris Bailey, Martin Duffy, Keith Levene, DH Peligro, Mark Lanegan, Taylor Hawkins and all those creative souls who sadly passed away in 2022. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts or Soundcloud. Retrosonic Theme by Adam Donovan. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS certificate.

For more information on the forthcoming book "A Taste of Ink: The Prisoners Sentenced By Their Fans" compiled and edited by Thomas Buch, Michael Langer, Elinor Crockford and Jeremy Stride, as discussed in this episode, please check out the Facebook page here or official web-site here.

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Best Compilations, Re-Issues, Box-Sets and Live Albums of 2022

Here's Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast's top 22 Reissues, Compilations, Box Sets and Live Album releases of 2022, we hope you enjoy this selection and if you do, please follow, like, subscribe to the Blog and Podcast and please support all the featured bands and artists. Thanks for all the support throughout the year!

1. That Petrol Emotion "Every Beginning Has A Future: An Anthology"'

2. The Liminanas "Electrified"

3. Blondie "Against The Odds"

4. The Courettes "Back In Mono: B-Sides & Outtakes"

5. Love "Expressions Tell Everything"

6. The Undertones "Dig What You Need"

7. The Gun Club "Preaching The Blues"

8. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros "1999-2002"

9. The Soundtrack of Our Lives "Homo Habilis Blues"

10. Fabienne Delsol "Between You And Me"

11. The Stranglers "The Men In Black In Tokyo" 

12. The Damned "AD 2022 Live at the Hammersmith Apollo"

13. Various Artists "Psychedelic Forest"

14. The Blue Aeroplanes "Swagger"

15. The Raveonettes "Whip It On/Chain Gang of Love"

16. BMX Bandits "Life Goes On"  

17. Giuda "Live at Punk Rock Raduno"

18. Various Artists "Jon Savage's 1977-1979: Symbols Clashing Everywhere"

19. March Violets "The Palace of Infinite Darkness"

20. Refused "The Shape of Punk To Come"

21. The Stranglers "Suite XVI"

22. Toyah "Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!"

Thanks to all contributors, bands, Podcast special guests and co-presenters, record labels and people who have shared and supported what we have done over the past year. Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast are an extension of the spirit of my old 1980's D.I.Y. cut 'n' paste fanzine Out of Step and are strictly non-profit without advertising or sponsorship, set up purely to promote music that we like. We hope you have discovered some exciting new music along the way, your support is very much appreciated. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London Kings Cross, May 26th 2022

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

At the end of my review of The Limiñanas at the 100 Club back in February 2019 I wrote “I have a feeling that the band will be selling out a much larger venue next time they come to play in London”. So, here we are at the Scala in Kings Cross, the band are finally back again and yes, it is much larger than the 100 Club but it’s still completely packed to the rafters. I also wrote “the most exciting thing of all is that musically The Limiñanas have not set themselves any boundaries, they can evolve in any way they choose. So as a fan, it will be fascinating to continue following them on the journey that lies ahead”. Well, it’s been some journey, that’s for sure. At that 100 Club show they included two new numbers in the set “Dreams” and “The Last Picture Show” and these pointed the way to a busy, creative time for the band. Those two songs ended up as part of a superb new project called L'Épée which included Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the French actress Emmanuelle Seigner. I was lucky enough to see them play in London at the end of 2019, it was another mind-blowing performance and the year belonged to The Limiñanas and L'Épée.

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Then of course came the unexpected two-year horror of the COVID pandemic but it certainly didn’t stop the creative output of Lionel and Marie as they immersed themselves in movie and TV music culminating in the brilliant score for “The World We Knew" along with “The Devil Inside Me” and “The Ballad of Linda L.” collaborations with David Menke. Then with their latest album “De Pelicula”, they have collaborated with the DJ and Producer Laurent Garnier to produce a hypnotic Electro-Techno-Fuzzed-up monster of a record. Moving away from the 60’s Garage Rock and Ye-Ye influences somewhat, this is a thoroughly modern sounding masterpiece that perfectly melds together Dance and Rock cultures. Live, the new songs work extremely well as is immediately apparent with the brilliant opening two song salvo of the single “Saul” and “Je Rentrais Par Le Bois”. To help capture this new direction, the band have recruited Edi Pistolas, the Chilean musician from the Dark Wave/Post-Punk bands Panico and Nova Materia to add his electronic sounds, percussion and half-sung half-rap vocals to the mix. He’s also a compelling and charismatic performer and he ups the visual impact to the max when he takes centre stage. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

We then get treated to a superb set encompassing the new album, old favourites such as “Down Underground” and classic singles like “Dimanche”, “Istanbul Is Sleepy” and “The Gift”. There’s the superb cover of Can’s “Mother Sky” which they have kind of adopted as their own and they even cover Lionel’s old band Beach Bitches “Crank”, a surefire Garage Punk classic that almost blows the roof off the Scala. Talking of which, the sound at the Scala is pretty good from down at the front but the lighting less so. There seems to be a shadow from a monitor or speaker obscuring Marie’s face for most of the set and there’s an extremely low stage for such a size of venue. This means that you’ve got to work hard for good views of all the action, and of course, it’s The Limiñanas so there is certainly plenty of action. I haven’t seen such a compelling and visually exciting live band since The Soundtrack of Our Lives split up in 2012 – well, possibly Oh!Gunquit would qualify – but in terms of sheer overwhelming, jaw-dropping spectacle then The Limiñanas are right up there. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Just like The Soundtrack of Our Lives, each member is integral not only to the band’s sound, but also their look and each member brings their own character and personality to the party. Whether, its Lionel hunched over, wringing mind-blowing fuzzed up riffs from his guitar, all wild hair and impressive beard or Marie’s joyful and original drumming – hammering her snare and floor-tom, red hair flailing and glowing in the lights. There’s no cymbals, no high-hat, just a tribal hypnotic and relentless beat. Bassist Mikey Malaga has a unique style with his low-slung black Fender Precision, it's every bit the iconic bass look – he swings and sways with his bass, totally hypnotic. Renaud Picard sings most of the lead vocal parts and adds layers of haunting backing vocals and acoustic guitar. Then, I suppose most great visual bands have to have a quiet member, it’s usually the bassist - The Who’s John Entwistle, the Stones’ Bill Wyman and TSOOL's Kalle Gustafsson spring to mind – just to keep everything balanced and in check. I guess this role falls to Alban Barate who although half-hidden at the back, adds some superb guitar work and keyboards and certainly shouldn’t be overlooked in his contribution to the sound. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

To top it all, I think every great band needs to have an eccentric and enigmatic member and this position is filled by Ivan Telefunken who has become something of a cult hero with fans. He’s totally out there and unique, completely lost in the music, he throws his guitar around wildly before pushing it against his amp to illicit screams of feedback and white noise which he skillfully manipulates to add so much texture and atmosphere to The Limiñanas sound. He also adds keyboards, which are decorated in eye-catching, multi-coloured polka dots. Ivan is to The Limiñanas what Eno was to Roxy Music, Blixa was to the Bad Seeds and Johnny Greenwood was to Radiohead - he fills the role of musical alchemist absolutely perfectly. He also takes over lead vocals on a raucous version of The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” which closes the set and goes down a storm, especially with long-time Limiñanas fan Damian O’Neill, who is in the crowd tonight. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Damian O'Neill of The Undertones with Marie & Lionel Limiñana at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

To digress, it was a pleasure to introduce them after the show and be reminded that even your favourite musicians can still be big music fans after all and the mutual appreciation was heart-warming to see. The band return for an encore and this time it's Marie taking on lead vocals for a pulsing version of Suicide’s “Cheree” which morphs into a transcendental mash-up of “Je M’en Vais” and “The Train Creep A-Loopin’”, absolutely stunning! The outpouring of appreciation and affection at the end of the show was quite emotional, the band seemed genuinely as happy as us fans did as they stood there together accepting the acclaim. Well, I said it before but I’ll say it again, I think next time they visit they are going to need a much bigger venue!

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

For more information on The Limiñanas, please visit their official web-site here. You can check out our feature on the 100 Club show in the Retro Man Blog archive here and the L'Épée show at EartH in Hackney here. Don't forget the special Retrosonic Podcast Episode 37 entitled "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us" in which I take a look at the band's history including some of their previous and related bands such as Beach Bitches, Les Bellas, Crank and Hair & The Iotas along with a pick of some of their many and varied cover versions. The episode is still available at our archive if you subscribe for free to Retrosonic Podcast at Soundcloud or Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes and Apple Podcasts. You can also listen or download below. You will also find some of our original videos of The Limiñanas and L'Épée if you subscribe to our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here. 

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 37 "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us"

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Albums of 2021

Well, 2021 has been another great year for new music despite the obvious and ongoing hardships of the pandemic as is evident in the four superb Retrosonic Podcast new release specials that we've put out this year. Listed below are twenty of our favourite albums of 2021, so please do click on the highlighted links to investigate these fantastic bands and records further. You can hear tracks from most of the featured albums in Retrosonic Podcasts Episode 42 "The After-Party After The Party From Hell", Episode 43 "Kiss Me I'm Vaccinated", Episode 44 "Sonic Love" and Episode 45 "Waking Up The Band". I hope you find something you like from this wonderful selection!

 

1. The Courettes "Back In Mono" (Damaged Goods)

2. The Limiñanas & Laurent Garnier "De Pelicula"

3. The Stranglers "Dark Matters"

4. The Bug Club "Pure Particles"

5. Gatuplan "Kampen Går Vidare!"

6. The Coral "Coral Island"

7. Groovy Uncle "Searching For The Grown-Ups"

8. The Limiñanas "The World We Knew"

9. Les Envahisseurs "Monkey Monk"

10. Sounds Incarcerated "Unswitchable Hits Vol. 1"

 

11. Viagra Boys "Welfare Jazz"

12. Stompin' Riffraffs "Burning"

13. Subway Sect "Moments Like These"

14. The Flaming Sideburns "Silver Flames"

15. Cult Figures "Deritend"

16. Seeds of 77 "Lockdown Breakout" (Sounds of The Suburbs)

17. Jarvis Cocker "Chansons d'Ennui"

18. Paul Weller "Fat Pop Vol. 1"

19. The Shadracks "From Human Like Forms" (Damaged Goods)

20. Civic "Future Forecast"

 

You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Mixcloud, Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud. Our favourite Singles, Reissues and Books of 2021 are coming soon.