THE phrase 'Oxford's next big band' gets bandied around so much it has become a little meaningless.

Well, I'm not going to say 31hours are Oxford's next big band – they're already big: on stage at their debut album launch at the Bullingdon they boast seven members, variously playing tuba, sax, flute, two guitars, two keyboards, a laptop, drums and bass, all while singing in harmony; they also have big, big riffs.

Musically, the band draws on a huge range of influences, and have zero qualms about shoving them together exactly how they want.

Terms like 'experimental', 'math rock' come to mind but it would do a disservice to just how catchy and foot-tappingly infectious these tunes are, with up-tempo swing, disco and afro beats competing with the ambient noise.

The album, which they play in its entirety on the night, is appropriately titled Tell Me What You See, and challenges categorisation from the start.

Fans of math rock could instantly make comparisons with the schizophrenic guitar rock of Fall of Troy or Volta do Mar, but then in comes some percussion, a warbling flute and a marimba and it sounds like Sufjan Stevens or even Frank Zappa. Fat synths and intimidating murmuring call to mind electro-grime gangsters Breton, then a hyperactive guitar duet turns it into Fela Kuti.

At the centre of this commotion are the band's two lead members: singer and guitarist Jo Griffin and drummer Jake Kavanagh, who formed the group in 2012.

Back then, with far fewer members, the group drew comparison with a slightly clumsy Biffy Clyro with an inaudible and awkwardly shy lead singer.

Clearly, they have spent a hell of a lot of time in the studio since then, turning some grand, dream-like vision of a 'cloud-capped mountains', as Jo sings at one point, into this 13-track masterpiece.

The one thing that hasn't changed is Jo's stage presence, still hiding behind a floppy fringe, a pair of Buddy Holly glasses and a pedal board like the control panel on a nuclear sub.

But then, maybe this silent figure in the middle of the swirling chaos is part of the point: like an auditory Rorschach test, he's saying, 'here's a whole galaxy of sounds - you Tell Me What You See'.

PETE HUGHES 5/5