Pram
Dark Island
»
Pram
Dark Island
Merge Records, 2003
RiYL: Portishead, Stereolab, Tortoise |
Bitter, jaded Portishead fans who foolishly await a new 'Head album with crossed fingers now have a place to turn their thirsty ears. Pram drags through all sorts of techno-riffic territory, but attains its highest peaks digging up the shallow grave of late '90s trip-hop, seamlessly grafting in glints of glittery guitar and drop-step flutter-beats.
The brightest glimmer exudes from the warm, velvet cushion-soft vocals of Rosie Cuckston, who accompanies the arrangements with understated, detached serenades so emphatically chilly one can almost feel the choking grip of frost upon repeated listens.
Her poetic prose drives the icepick home, painting a pitch-black portrait of vague emptiness and lifelong indifference. On "Goodbye," she sings of trusting her heart and soul to a shady suitor, only to find her investment to be a wrong turn down a blind alley, and ends up worse for wear.
"I realized my mistake and hurried to the pawnshop window, but where my things had been there was nothing but a shadow," she sings.
Dismissing the standard philosophy-lite approach to lyrics, Cuckston cuts to the root of the often-fruitless nature of stated intentions on the title track, crowing "Words make remote objects of us, distant islands in an ocean of sound . . . one word can turn your world upside down."
Lushly reduxing tweak-hop for a new generation, Pram breaks free of the restraints hindering many Portishead-juniors, displaying savvy songwriting wit and scenic, devastatingly cryptic soundscapes.
GRANT PURDUM | Among the newest wave of NATN contributors, Grant Purdum bides his time at Washington State University.