Spray - Ambiguous Poems About Death (2021)

Much beloved sibling duo Jenny McLaren (vocals, guitars) and Ricardo Autobahn (synths) have built an enviable following of devotees throughout their career of producing a brand of danceable and subversive indie disco pop under the Spray banner. Their musical DNA can be traced all the way back to The Cuban Boys, with plenty of shenanigans in between; including topping the John Peel Festive 50 Charts (twice!), Eurovision adventures, and collaborations to invade the UK singles charts on an irregular basis. Now, Spray are ready to entertain us once again with their new album Ambiguous Poems About Death.

This will be Spray’s second full album for the label following on from the critically acclaimed Failure Is Inevitable released back in May 2019. Jenny and Ricardo have used the intervening time wisely; writing, terrorising social media, working with puppets, and embarking on a number of live performances including August 2021’s first post lockdown real life affair in Liverpool. The gig saw the duo debut a couple of the new album tracks in front of actual people receiving a, let’s be honest, rapturous reception.

Ambiguous Poems About Death kicks off its twelve tracks very much as it means to go on, as Blurred in the Background and lead single Felicette (Space Cat) set the bar and tempo high, encouraging you to get up and dance. In fact, there’s only a brief respite when you get to It’s an All Skate and normal service quickly resumes with Hammered in an Airport.

“In early 2020 we bought a Behringer TD-3, one of the company's excellent Roland TB-303 knockoffs,” says Ricardo talking about the gestation of the new album. “We had an idea of putting out a quick acid house-style album in the summer, something short, spiky and electropunk. This did not come to fruition as like many, Spray found themselves locked down in separate locations, in their case on either side of Lancashire.”

Undeterred by great distances (across the plains of Lancashire) recording and production duties were split between Spray Studio 1 (decaying, seen better days) and Spray Studio 2 (shiny, newly refurbished, sweet smelling) as the album took shape with the TD-3 employed in all the songs, somewhere. But had events forced Spray into a certain direction for the new album?

“Hammered In an Airport and We'll Look Back On This And Laugh were the only times we allowed ourselves to comment on ‘The Global Situation’ as we figured it was a topic that would become a cliché amongst hack songwriters like us before too long” continues Ricardo; “The rest of the songs follow Spray's tried and tested formula of overblown escapism.”

Such escapism is amply demonstrated in the lead single Félicette (Space Cat) along with an admirable dedication to research. “I bought wine that had cats in space suits on the front,” says Jenny, “as this is pretty much how I choose my wine. On reading the back of the wine bottle I discovered Félicette, who in 1963 became the first (and only) cat who went into space and had been pretty much forgotten about in the history of space travel.”

Packed full of acerbic wit with tongue firmly in cheek when needed for maximum effect, the band lampoon certain public figures (Mindless Insincere Ooze), ongoing dysfunctional relationships (Douche Canoe) and …er… faded stars trying to top the highs of yesteryear (Get Normal). Ambiguous Poems About Death will delight fans new and old from the first listen.

In a year where another criminally underrated music duo with a penchant for acerbic off kilter pop have enjoyed an uptick of interest (Sparks, of course), don’t you dare miss out on the chance to enjoy this amazing band, and definitely don’t leave it until Spray’s 50th anniversary.*

*This may or may not happen in 2048.