Review: Numbers - Pollinate (Ramrock Red Records)

When Jo Wallace (head honcho at Ramrock, F*CLR and many other enterprises) broke news of a 'Listening Party' for the Numbers' ten track album, 'Pollinate' she confidently said, "You can thank me later", how right was she then?

Curiously enough, Mrs Ramrock was spot on as ever having found a hybrid 'ACR, Talking Heads, P-Funk' that fits the bill from the opener, 'Amber' to the end, 'Rebel Corner' with a smidgen of dub.

Numbers are the duo of Ali Friend (double bass) and Richard Thair (drums) that were two thirds of Red Snapper who were doing this sort of thing (downtempo, dubby trip hop, breaks, acid jazz and more) 30 years ago on WARP and being remixed by Weatherall's Sabres Of Paradise and hanging out (professionally) with Beth Orton!

So whilst they have loads of history, 'Pollinate' is more than just seeds of a flowering progress .  'Discoid' has that, you'd never guess, disco groove and old skool vocoder that seems to be trendy once more whilst 'Let's Stamp On It' is 2026/ACR/Chic (they're a couple of charmers).

It's not all bass and boogie as we do enter a new wave-Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark/Tears For Fears(-ish) via 'Smoke In The Skies' teritory.  And the tracks are all quite punchy pop tune length but 'Stone Chat' stands out at over 5 mins and instrumental with lots of squelchy electronics which they say is, "Lead by guitars this is a nod to classic jazz-funk workouts".

A they don't mind an experiment with the beautiful 'Window Of Opportunity' (bowed bass and moog-Taurus) that falls between Delia Derbyshire and George Martin; it's brilliant!  

And for fans of London based art rockers 'Modern Nature', guitarist Tara Cunningham guests here on a plucky jam 'Bath Vaults'.  If you ever wondered what Arthur Russell (thank you Mr Kedros) might be doing with the Durutti Column (thank you Mikey McMikestar) in dub, check 'Gin And Wave' again with extra guitar from Ms Cunningham.

Fans of 'Le Boucle Noveau' EP from last year (see review HERE) will get this straight away and 'Amber' sounds special on every repeat listen. And there's even an A Certain Ratio remix of 'Amber' available - a sort of ACR double up.

PS. Don't forget to thank Ms.Wallace next time you see her.

Buy Link / Pre-Order: RRRLP017 - Number - Pollinate | Number | Ramrock

Artist: Numbers 

Title: Pollinate
Release date: 15th January, 2026
Label: Ramrock Red Records
Cat. No: RRRLP17
Format: Bandcamp / Digital