An expanded American CD reissue of Pram's 1992 debut EP, this is Pram at their most abrasive. The cacophonous opener "Dead Piano" finds singer/lyricist Rosie Cuckston howling like Ari Upp of the Slits over a near-atonal background. Elsewhere, the lengthy "Inmate's Clothes" marries a rhythm that sounds like something out of the Residents with a more typical Cuckston coo, finishing it off with a surprisingly aggressive guitar solo that sounds like someone's bouncing a basketball off the strings of a Stratocaster turned to 11. Hard stuff to listen to at times, but there's an intriguing sense of dynamics and pacing even on these formative tracks that would develop into the sonic richness and ambience of later albums like Sargasso Sea or The Stars Are So Big, the Earth Is So Small…Stay As You Are. (On the other hand, the quirky piano-based instrumental "The Day the Animals Turned on the Cars" has a naïve, childlike charm.) Gash also features the group's early trademark, the use of children's toys and kiddie instruments to accent and develop the mildly creepy atmosphere, which would become less pronounced over the course of later albums. Though this early material is musically challenging and provocative, Gash is in retrospect perhaps best enjoyed after familiarizing oneself with Pram's more accessible later works. — Stewart Mason
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