By Keith Walsh
The sibling duo of Spray –Jenny McLaren and Ricardo Autobahn of England — are worldly observers of life. The songs on their new album Ambiguous Poems About Death are topical, in which money, hypocrisy, travel and disappointment are key topics. Yet the fresh disco electropop sheen of synthetic beats by Autobahn, and McLaren’s bright soprano voice (and occasional badass electric guitar) make you want to dance away the heartache.
There’s a clear lineage of synth-pop combined with social commentary, and Spray is in the company of great bands like The Human League, Heaven 17, Depeche Mode and Eurythmics when it comes to blending synthetic grooves with dissatisfaction. And despite the playful soundbite on “Hammered In An Airport” which teases the cliché, Spray really do have roots in 80s techno pop and disco.
Yet there’s a 21st century awareness on Ambiguous Poems About Death. With a multitude of concepts presented to us everyday in the form of social media and satellite news, it’s no wonder that the lyrics of the album are savvier than most, with songs akin to mini cinematic experiences. There’s hints of ABBA in the sound (“Mindless, Insincere Ooze”), cool sci-fi concepts complete with NASA-inspired soundbites (“Space Cat”), and big synthpop anthems (“Enough Of The Small Talk, Where’s My Money?”) The mixing by Morgan Lorentz is first rate, subtle yet powerful, perfectly balanced.
Considering the sharply focused lyrics, it’s no surprise that when planning the album, McLaren and Autobahn first set out to create something “spiky,” something near electro-punk. Yet the sounds of Ambiguous Poems About Death are smoother than that, and it’s due to the sweetness of McLaren’s voice and the clean production. The two worked between two remote locations in Lancashire and Liverpool, called Spray Studio 1 and Spray Studio 2. There’s a harmony at play in the sibling relationship, in the technology used, and in the studio as instrument concept. Spray have put together an album of memorable, dance-worthy electronica.
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Analogue Trash Records
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