Pram are a British post-rock band formed in Birmingham, England in 1988 by Rosie Cuckston (vocals, keyboards), Matt Eaton (guitar), Andy Weir (drums), and Samantha Owen (bass). Subsequent lineups have changed frequently, most notably with Cuckston's departure in 2008. Their electronic pop sound, described by AllMusic as "equally quaint and unsettling," employs unconventional instruments and draws on stylistic influences such as krautrock, exotica, and dub. The group signed to Too Pure Records in 1993, where they released their debut LP The Stars Are So Big, The Earth Is So Small... Stay as You Are. They later signed to Domino. Following the 2007 album The Moving Frontier, they took a lengthy hiatus, returning in 2018 with Across the Meridian. History Early years Rosie Cuckston, Matt Eaton and Andy Weir grew up together attending Harrogate Grammar School in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. In the late 1980s Cuckston and Eaton moved to Birmingham to study at Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University), where Cuckston met Shropshire-born Samantha "Sam" Owen by chance (at a local supermarket's Singles Night). Weir had moved to London to study art, but kept in touch: in the meantime, Cuckston and Eaton played together in bands and got as far as recording in commercial studios, but Eaton would later recall that "the process didn’t lend itself to diversity and experimentation." In 1988, Weir reunited with the other three and they began playing music together in Birmingham under the temporary name Hole (at that point, performing solely with vocals and a homemade theremin). Some time later Hole changed their name to Pram, with Cuckston singing and playing keyboards, Eaton mostly playing guitar, Weir drumming, and Owen playing bass guitar. A little later the group added a fifth member, public school-educated Max Simpson, on keyboard and sampler. Over time, the various band members introduced their multi-instrumental skills to the project. Sam Owen and Matt Eaton frequently shared bass guitar and six-string guitar roles (as well as adding to the keyboards), while Owen also performed on various woodwind and reed instruments as well as singing backing vocals. The band were also quick to incorporate unusual instruments, including toys, into their sound - their performance and recording armoury included the theremin, a zither, a toy piano, a glass hammer, a glockenspiel, and a Hawaiian bubble machine. Pram's name emphasised their unearthly, childlike tone and presentation, with Rosie Cuckston's eerie vocals and lyrics dealing with depression,