LARGE NUMBER SPRAY ON SOUND ALBUM WHITE LABEL RELEASE: OCTOBER 10, 2003 REVIEW: MARCH 29, 2004

“Large Number” is a group which has emerged seemingly out of the blue from those crazy-ass funsters Add N to (X). Ann Shenton (the one-time keyboard player) has seemingly taken the bravado of said band (along with the drummer!), and drafted in as many like-minded individuals as she can, trying to find a mixing pot big enough to stir up her sonic concoction, the product of which is this new long-player “Spray on Sound”.
It starts with possibly the most violently electronic opener I have ever heard, which is no mean feat, and from here we have all kinds of theremin, moog and Hawaiian guitar based madness to delight in. There are also some truly inspired samples; my favourite being after the singing has finished on “Lexical Synesthesia” – “Well I think it’s amazing what you can do using a microphone which cost 99p”.
It can truly be said that no piece on this 14-track, 37-minuter is ever, in any way, shape or form alike – which is completely to its credit. I haven’t heard such creativity instilled into such a short space of time in a long time (no mean feat!) – dog barks, whistles, even a seemingly pissed R2D2 appears – in a farmyard! (“Emotional Life of Animals”). More weirdness than you can find on your average sound effects CD played over more instruments than an orchestra would know how to cope with.
From sonic blasts, to manic electronic squiggles, surreal vocals (what is “Pink Jazz” by the way?) to banjo-led theremin tracks, this album manages to take apart just about every convention of what a “pop” song (being a song of around three minutes in duration) should be, swallows it down with a bottle of your finest brew, then vomits it back straight through an analogue keyboard – something to be heard to really appreciate. Thank god for creativity!

MIKE WHYTE