Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
The Birmingham, England band known as Pram came out of the same school of hypnogogic pop that begat such groups as Stereolab and Broadcast, and helped sow the seeds for the work being presented by labels like Ghost Box and Clay Pipe Music. All of those groups took inspiration from esoteric exotica recordings, half-remembered soundtracks to ‘70s-era educational videos and a potion made up of psychedelic pop, Krautrock and dub. Of those aforementioned groups, Pram was perhaps the least-successful but its the one that has had the longest tail of influence, even after spending over a decade in hibernation and losing one key element to its sound: the feathery vocals of Rosie Cuckston.
Just yesterday, it was announced that Pram were finally returning to the world with a new album Across The Meridian (out on July 22nd via Domino Records) and a video for the first release from it, “Shimmer and Disappear.” Now a mostly instrumental project, the band relies on their blowsy horn section and a nostalgic atmosphere to lead the charge of their nostalgic pop sound instead of vocals. It’s an odd trade off but one that they works wonders for Pram as this fantastic, fanciful song proves.