Currently comprised of founding members Kärt Ojavee (synths), Rein Fuks (guitars, vocals) and Reijo Tagapere (bass), along with newest members Eve Komp (vocals, synths, metallophone) and Margus Voolpriit (drums), the Tallinn, Estonia-based shoegazer act Pia Fraus can trace their origins to when its founding members Ojavee, Fuks, and Tagapere along with Tõnis Kenkmaa, Joosep Volk and Kristen Loide met while they were all attending art school.
Starting as a sextet, the band spent 1998 writing material and by the following year, they began playing gigs in and around Tallinn. By 2001, the band had written and self-released their full-length debut Wonder What It’s Like and then sent demos to several different labels before catching the attention of American record label Clairecrords, who released their sophomore full-length effort In Solarium. And although in the following years, the band went through a series of lineup changes, they managed to be rather prolific — they released two EPs, 2003’s Plastilina and 2005’s self-released Mooie Island. Along with that the band’s sophomore effort In Solarium was released as an expanded edition in Japan through Vinyl-Junkie Recordings, who also released a compilation Sailing on a Grapefruit Lake, which featured two accompanying videos. The Estonian shoegazers followed up 2006’s self-released Nature Heart Software and 2008’s Norman Blake-produced, fourth album, After Summer.
Adding to a growing profile, the members of Pia Fraus have opened for the likes of Ulrich Schnauss, Animal Collective, Frida Hyvönen, Fleckfumie and Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and have had their work remixed by the likes of His Name Is Alive, Teenage Fanclub, Ulrich Schnauss, Hood, Airiel, Mahogany, Picnic, Wolfredt, Jatun, Bill Wills, Guther, Miwon, Fleckfumie, Mondil, Future Pilot Aka, Seeland, International Airport, 3Pead, Mirabilia, Galaktlan and Pastacas. Along with that they released a split 7 inch vinyl single with Ulrich Schnauss and as well as a remix compilation, Ten Remixes of Yenissey.
The band had literally disappeared for close to a decade, before releasing a string of singles over the past year, from Field Ceremony, the Estonian shoegazers’ first full-length effort in almost a decade, slated for an October 13, 2017 release here in the States and an October 16, 2017 release in Europe, Japan and elsewhere. And as you’ll hear off album single “That’s Not All,” the Tallinn, Estonia-based act manage to maintain the dream pop sound that won international attention while expanding upon their sound — in this case, jangling guitars fed through pedal effects are paired with a rousingly anthemic hooks, swirling electronics and a use of plaintive boy-girl harmonies to create a dreamy song that possesses an underlying urgent swoon.
Directed by the band’s Joosep Volk, the recently released visuals follows the band’s Eve Komp as she’s driving to a rehearsal/show/studio to play with the band, and from there, the video employs a relatively simple concept — the band performing the song but shot with hazy filters and gently blurred closeups.
