THE MUSEUM OF IMAGINARY ANIMALS

This artist addition is fairly recent, but I'm afraid there won't be many reviews to come in time either. I found PRAM via PA forum thread about Stereolab to which they could be compared to. My dive into this band's discography is still constricted and shallow, but this album seems to be possibly the best for my taste. Notice that practically I'm not listening to Pram with prog ears (the 1993 debut The Stars Are So Big... could the most noteworthy) but purely with pop ears, meaning that the possible amount of "prog" is to me insignificant. Pram could be described as Alternative/Indie Rock with elements from dream pop, post-rock, ambient music, Krautrock and jazz. While this album may be more accessible than the earliest ones, the sonic textures are still highly personal and unique.

The album opens with a single-released song 'The Owl Service'. I sense some Psych-Folk weirdness in it, although basically it's an unprogressing, rhythmic, modern alt-pop song. The slightly NICO reminding childish vocals of Rosie Cuckston are definitely one of the most distinctive things in Pram's sound, in addition to their fondness for less heard instruments. Here you can imagine a little girl being lost in a dark Wood inhabited by animals. 'Bewitched' has that toyish sound typical for Pram, served with a playfully jazzy vibe featuring a trumpet. Hints of bands such as Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Cluster & Eno and Harmonia.

'Mother of Pearl' sounds delightfully fresh, not only because of the joyous brass riff. On 'Narwhal' one can spot theremin from behind all those toyish percussions. Then comes an atonal and experimental instrumental which I believe the All Music Guide reviewer refers to when mentioning "an aquatic atmosphere, not unlike Meddle-era Pink Floyd". Also 'The Waiting Room' on the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway has some similarities, or the instrumentals on Bowie's Heroes or Low albums. A bit more progression would have made this 4-minute piece more fascinating.

'The Mermaids Hotel' is perhaps the poppiest piece on this album. "You'd have to be a mermaid / to stay in your hotel room". Some peculiar speed manipulation -- as if someone pressing the turntable occasionally -- underlines the UNnormal side of this holiday song of sorts. Here's another stylistic reference: NITS at their most playful, e.g. Omsk (1983). 'Picure Box' is a brief instrumental that features a music box and playing the tape backwards. Easily the best track is the last and the longest one: 'Play of the Waves' (7:26). This has the jazzy vibe I mentioned earlier, and the way the piece goes on instrumentally in the end is very enjoyable.

If you're new to Pram like I was, this charming album is an excellent place to start.