Pia Fraus – Now You Know, It Still Feels The Same (Album – SekSound Record Label)
Genre/Influences: Shoegaze, Dream-Pop.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: This album by Estonian formation Pia Fraus was released last year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album “Wonder What It’s Like”. The songs were played and recorded again while the tracklist became different from the original.
Content: Pia Fraus early work was clearly driven by the legacy of 80s Dream-Pop and Shoegaze genres. From ‘happy’-pop to darker and harder passages, the work has something eclectic. Some songs remind me of the imaginary hybrid between The Cure and The Housemartins. The dreamy side of the composition is, however predominant.
+ + + : The album has been released by the band’s own label so in a way Pia Fraus paid homage to their own work. This album isn’t innovative but is a fully enjoyable work. I like the ‘feel good’ opener “How Fast Can You Love”, but still the harder and darker “Obnoxious” coming next. It illustrates the band’s diversity. The dreamy side comes through with grace at “Swim In Eyes” and “Plastic World”. On top of the songs you’ll hear the sweet and sensual vocals of Kristel Eplik.
– – – : The original album wasn’t exactly the one with the band’s ‘best’ or ‘biggest’-songs.
Conclusion: This work is a perfect way to remind -or to discover, the gentle Dream-Pop and Shoegaze style of this band.
Best songs: “Obnoxious”, “Swim In Eyes”, “Plastic World”, “How Fast Can You Love”, “Blå”.
Rate: 7.
Listen to “Now You Know It Still Feels The Same”:
Artist: www.piafraus.com / www.facebook.com/piafrausband
Label: www.seksound.com / www.facebook.com/seksound
About Pia Fraus
Pia Fraus is a shoegaze and dream-pop band formed in Tallinn, Estonia, in 1998. The name is a Latin expression meaning “pious fraud”. Kristel Eplik sings lead vocals.
The band debuted with “Wonder What It’s Like” in 2001, followed by “In Solarium” in 2002 and the “Plastilina EP” on Clairecords in 2003. “Nature Heart Software” arrived in 2006 and “After Summer” in 2008, the same year as the 7” “Mute The Birds / Ships Will Sail” on SekSound. The compilation “Silmi Island”, covering 1998 to 2008, appeared in 2013.
SekSound has issued the band’s later work, including the EPs “Autumn Winds” (2016), “That’s Not All” (2017), “Mountain Trip EP” (2018), “Sweet Sunday Snow” and “Hidden Parks” (2019) and “The New Water” (2020). “Now You Know It Still Feels The Same” followed in 2021 as a re-recording of the debut album, and the single “French Exit” arrived in 2023.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
