Record Review - 1 September 11 2002



Sharing the same sense of understatement as labelmates Black Box Recorder, Tram creates laconic pop that surges without exploding. More winsome than Low and less tortured than Smog, Tram allows its music to remain quiet without disappearing completely.

Tram’s Paul Anderson frequently pits softly strummed guitar against ringing xylophone and bleating trumpet. He plays with songs like he’s working the lead of a kite, letting out the slack for gorgeous ascending choruses before pulling everything back taut on the verse. Instruments are bathed in echo — the guitars take on a foggy hue as if viewed from behind greased glass, and occasional brass and string flourishes augment but never overpower.

A Kind of Closure is a work of surprising restraint and marvelous sedation, illustrating the principle that power is often inversely proportional to volume.??