** Pram

GASH

(World Domination)

Pram represent the experimental arm of Too Pure, the British label behind like-minded retro-futurists Stereolab and Laika. Tossing aside traditional pop structure and instrumentation in favor of a jazz-infected carnival rife with theremins and toy pianos, the Birmingham combo shine brightest when pitting their instrumental stew against Rosie Cuckston's surreal lyrics and girlishly exotic voice.

In this reissue of their 1991 debut EP (previously available only on vinyl and through the mail, and here buffed up with bonus tracks), Pram are noisier than usual, offering clamorous drones and trash-can percussion in place of the circus keyboards and smooth vocals that dominate later albums. The eerie atonality and dark edginess of Gash capture the paranoia lying at the heart of those later albums. Transmitting dark emotions through a playful lens makes Pram consistently intriguing, even in the fledgling stage documented here.

-- Jay Ruttenberg