A Ramble With Pram

I have decided Pram are my favourite group. Why? Well, I overheard a soundcheck in a Central London bookstore, and when a friend asked what they were like I had to say 'Pram'.

For they have developed an instantly recognisable, distinctive sound of their own. That is, of course, all very well if you know Pram, but the fun starts when you start to pin down that sound for the uninitiated.

There was once a group called Dislocation Dance. Not a great group, but a great name, and one that describes Pram. They have that same ungainly, loping, disjointed feel I associate with Pere Ubu or Sun Ra or the Art Ensemble of Chicago which can be so disorienting and unsettling. Yet Pram are also as sweet and affecting as the loveliest bossa or rocksteady moments.

So where does that get you? On seeing Pram play live (the free bookstore show I mentioned above: very civilised, very un-r'n'r, nice surrounds, nice peopleÉ), a friend was stretching out for reference points and suggested the Rough Trade spirit was very much present in the Pram make-up. He mentioned the Young Marble Giants and the Delta 5. he could have mentioned Essential Logic and the Raincoats. Certainly Pram have that soft, femme-centric, adventuresome restlessness that so characterised that period of early '80s pop innovation. I argue strongly that those groups found their own voice by moving so deliberately away from a hard, male-led rock'n'roll culture, and as part of that process they embraced so many other forms of music. As Vicky Aspinall mentions in the sleevenotes of the reissue Moving, at that time the Raincoats were listening to Chic, African sounds, Abdullah Ibrahim, funk, Cajun and reggae, and it all seemed natural. Which is why people like the Raincoats and Au Pairs express disappointment that in so many cases now female groups are content to rock out.

I don't think Pram could rock out. I can imagine them having a go at sea shanties, nursery rhymes, lullabies, waltzes and whatever: like Mo Tucker taking over from Tom Waits on Frank's Wild Years or one of the Rough Trade-era Pere Ubu sets performed with Bebel Gilberto (what do you mean you haven't got her LP? The first great summer record of this century!)

None of this is intended to detract from Pram's unique way with sounds and the like. Rather we are striving to put something in context for you. If you liked Stereolab and Broadcast, Tortoise and Air then the chances are, if you like a little something more absurd and formless, you will love Pram.

So where to start? Well, there have been plenty of Pram records down the years. What do you mean you had not realised? There is a new one out, The Museum of Imaginary Animals on Domino even as we speak. I can't tell you what it's like yet, but I guess it is very Pram. Which, in turn, raises the question: how many Pram records do you need? Like Fela Kuti or the Ramones, with a sound so distinctive do you need to be a completist? My guess is I will probably buy the new one sometime as I feel so guilty about not buying new releases, and something has got to disrupt my habit of buying old punk, soul and reggae. Not easy, admittedly, when Kent are so adept at delighting and stuff like Johnny Clarke's Rockers Time Now pops out on CD at budget prices. StillÉ

My own favourite Pram record is Sargasso Sea from 1995/96-ish, where the off-kilter trumpet starts to figure in the mix and the rhythms start to become more pronounced. I remember it got 0 out of 10 in the NME, which was recommendation enough though the title made me think of Jean Rhys (and her prequel to Jane Eyre) and the tropics. I doubt if singer Rosie has yet achieved a place in pop's official pantheon, but one song 'Loose Threads' contains some lovely lines like

All your anger and misgivings
Tie your shoes up, polish your mask
But all your anger and misgivings
Makes you tattered round the edges

Indeed the rest of Rosie's words bear closer inspection, which is a pleasant surprise as the fragility of her vocals could suggest there is little substance, only colour.

Listening back to Sargasso Sea I am reminded of Martin Denny's exotica and his warped take on pop back in the '50s. when such exotica and easy listening was in vogue, it must have been easy to overlook the experiments Denny was indulging in, subverting straight pop with irregular instruments and found sounds. So, Pram have an air of gleefully messing about with the odd and the old internals of instrumentation: here an accordion, there a theremin, a toy electronic keyboard, clarinet and what have we here? After all, let's not forget Augustus Pablo transformed pop with a kid's toy, and have we forgotten the Fall's use of the kazoo!

So, why do we approve of Pram? My line of reasoning is that in an age of orthodoxy, Pram's nonchalant, pleasantly strange stubborn streak is to be appreciated as it is surprising.

© Kevin Pearce 2000