Les Limbes

Les LimbesFrench outfit Les Limbes are all about propulsion and atmosphere. Their brand of epic, rocket-fuelled post-rock’n’roll is woven together with heavy guitars, soaring strings and driving pianos. Their debut self-titled EP (April 17 2015) is testament to the band’s ability to not only write smart compositions, but also bring them to life with incredible energy and a stratospheric sound.

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Discography

 

Les Limbes


April 2015

Les Limbes’ debut self-titled EP is an exercise in intensely focused energy and atmosphere. Its four instrumental tracks are driven by dense, heavy guitars and a lithe, propulsive rhythm section, counterpointed with soaring strings and driving pianos. This mix of adrenalised rock heft with atmospheric pop dynamics is both mesmerising and incredibly visceral, no better exemplified than on new single ‘Hypersonic’.

Biography

Born from the ashes of a number of previously active bands from Bordeaux, south west France (Beautiful Lunar Landscape, Nihil, Nucold), several members of Les Limbes began working together in 2012. Initially the band jammed and recorded their ideas, which made it clear something special was brewing. The band grew to a five piece (Arnaud Sigonney, Yoann Roy, Daniel Guerin, Julien Favreau, Nicolas Pointeau), began playing shows in Bordeaux, and recorded their brilliant four-track self-titled debut EP, to be released through Hidden Shoal (May 2015). Fans of Beautiful Lunar Landscape, who also released their debut through Hidden Shoal in 2007, will recognise the epic atmospheric rock stylings that Les Limbes effortlessly exude. However, the band also bring a new level of energy to the table, propelling these compositions into the stratosphere. This is noisy, rocket-fuelled post-rock’n’roll at its finest.

News

Reviews

  • Les Limbes EP Reviewed at Hypnagogue

    “Crusted in thick and gritty heavy metal tropes, from crunchy distorted guitars to viciously assaulted drums, Les Limbes’ debut EP is one of those albums you throw on when you need to break a speed limit somewhere. It’s just four tracks and less than 20 minutes long, but these post-rock instrumentals land with a fair degree of force. “Hypersonic” is a barreling train of sonic goodness that stops in the middle to grab a breath before finding another level of intensity. A three-chord descant that repeats over and over throws an anthemic feel into the mix. The last minute of this track is big and meaty and fun. “Strangers to Everyone” drops the tempo and picks up more of an indie rock swerve, but still has that metal edge. “Thousand Billion Broken Ideas” puts the bass up front and lets it grind away. Vocal drops repeating the title are a nice touch. I feel like I hear an Incubus influence in the sound and structure here, with the raw potency of Rage Against the Machine. My favorite of the four. “Zeitgeist” starts out feeling like a bit of an indulgence, coming in with unaccompanied piano that swells into a hammer-fisted blast of chords like Rachmaninov gone mad. I don’t get into this one until late in the track when wah-wah’d guitar lines start strafing the area–but by then I’m also done with the “let’s do a power ballad” mindset.

    As a quick listen, Les Limbes works well. The group has energy and chops to spare, but cleaves pretty closely to a safe heavy post-rock style. It’s a great album to toss into a mix, and shows a lot of potential for work yet to come. Have a listen.”

    – Hypnagogue

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  • Les Limbes Reviewed at 4ZZZ

    “Instrumental rock! Break out the adjectives! Even the opportunity for enthusiastically bad music journalism can’t actually diminish my excitement for Bordeaux band Les Limbes and their self-titled EP.
    As with many things that come out on the surprisingly long-lived Perth boutique label, Hidden Shoal, this EP arrives unexpectedly, at short notice. Label mainman, Cam Merton, has an enduring passion for instrumental rock bands that manage to be a little bit more experimental than your regular, cookie-cutter post-rock types: from some Australian artists you might actually have heard of, like Apricot Rail, City Of Satellites, Perth and Tarcutta to the many diamonds in the rough from distant lands, that get dusted off for a listen, but most likely disappear again, shortly thereafter.

    I’m keen for Les Limbes to have a lasting impact. Billed nominally as a post-rock outfit, the band are a little bit, intriguingly different. Not taking any chances that you’ll miss their schtick, they put it right up the front of the EP, knocking the gate off its hinges with a driving bass-line that powers opening cut, Hypersonic, with a guttural roar.

    Before the simple but thoroughly eerie lead line drifts like fog across the top, you’ll be put in mind of Shellac, if Shellac were a krautrock band and Steve Albini gave up singing so he could focus on driving his terrible aggression, psychically, through Bob Weston’s mind and into his bass-playing.

    The pure force of the bass, combining with some pretty gnarly rhythm guitar pushes the sound right to the edge of metal. It’s got the same mixture of prog warmth and ferocity that you’d expect from Mastodon, or that time when Trans Am teamed up with The Fucking Champs.

    All of those chops don’t stop Les Limbes from being plenty theatrical, slipping in Hammond organ, piano, strings and synthetic effects. There’s something -I don’t know what- howling like the wind in the latter half of Hypersonic, which made me think of nothing so much as a metal version of Let’s Do The Timewarp again; one with a real pair of balls, unlike that Mr. Frank N Furter. Elsewhere I’ve heard the band described as post-rock’n’roll, and well, that might just be spot on.

    The EP’s second cut, Strangers To Everyone does the traditional post-rock slow crescendo, languidly rising into thundering, modal harmonies. If every track sounded like this I’d be bored, but as a one off, why not?
    Thousand Billion Broken Ideas pushes further into post-punk, spraying mental turmoil through cracks in its facade, leaking out a quietly strained vocal endlessly repeating “I’ve got a thousand billion broken ideas” and nearly disintegrating into a piano-adorned mess.

    Closer, Zeitgeist, gives the piano a proper go in a sultry, jazzy but stentorian intro. It joins with guitar in a central melody that threatens to evaporate, but keeps reappearing with ever more galvanising force.
    All the arty guff on this EP, the soft heart of prog is melted down and reforged into a lead ball which gets fired at your chest. It’s the kind of attack that makes you stronger, revives a lagging passion for types of music that have been worn down by workmanlike treatment. Quite the opposite of their name, which means, simply, Limbo, Les Limbes are thrilling.”

    – 4ZZZ (Written by Chris Cobcroft)

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  • Les Limbes Self-Titled EP Reviewed at Tomatrax

    “Les Limbes have charged out with this their debut EP. Consisting of four instrumental tracks the Bordeaux 5 piece have infused heavy rock and shoegazer sounds achieving massive energy and a deep atmosphere.

    Hypersonic is a curious mix of Tool and Radiohead with heavy rock vibes charging along like a bullet train backed with a layered depth of shoegazer and psychedelic experimentation.The result is a track that sounds like what a roller coaster ride on the moon!

    Strangers to everyone is quite a contrast with a much more chilled out exterior. There are some amazing psychedelic sounds and a good dose of metal guitars, however it is all packaged in a slow, dreamy manner. The track climaxes with a massive Sonic Youth-esq no wave jam before drifting away. Thousand billion broken ideas has a Rage Against the Machine Feel to it courtesy of some heavy and roaring guitars. This is contrasted nicely with some melodic textures. Zeitgest is a darker piano driven tune with low growing guitars working their way in. There is a great melancholic feel going over the track sounding something like the darker moments of old school Metallica.

    This is truly (figuratively) mind blowing stuff! These tracks really show off what can be achieved in instrumentals to the extent that it feels like a lot if being said even though there are no words!”

    – Tomatrax

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  • Les Limbes ‘Hypersonic’ Featured at Magnet Magazine

    “French outfit Les Limbes will drop their debut self-titled EP on April 17 and now offer powerful new single “Hypersonic” for free download. Les Limbes mix atmosphere with energy to create an exciting new sound. “Hypersonic” moves at a fast pace with a thick, muddy bass droning underneath the fast melodies and skilfull drums.”

    – Magnet Magazine

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Les Limbes Debut EP Release

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Licensing

Les Limbes music is  available for licensing (master & sync cleared) through Hidden Shoal. Please contact us with some basic details about your project and the track(s) you wish to use and we’ll be sure to get back to you straight away.

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