Evening Colours

Long-running Estonian band Pia Fraus have been playing a distinctive brand of driving indie pop mixed with shoegaze dreaminess since the late 90s. After celebrating more than two decades in the game by revisiting early material on 2021s Now You Know It Still Feels the Same, Evening Colours is their first batch of fresh songs since 2020s Empty Parks. For this album, Pia Fraus worked with two notable figures who played a major influence on the bands sound. The records cover art, a colorful, abstract beach scene, was designed by Annabel Wright of Scottish legends the Pastels, and four songs feature string arrangements by Sean OHagan (the High Llamas, Microdisney). The sweeping strings and sweetly melancholic vocal harmonies of "Sunny Afternoon" feel like an instant flashback to OHagans extensive work with Stereolab throughout the 90s and 2000s, though its particular breeziness is all Pia Fraus own. Another standout, "Fog on the Hills," has a rushing rhythm and subtle layers of levitating synths, adding a cosmic atmosphere to lyrics of intense longing and desire. The band creatively incorporate a heavy Krautrock influence into "Regret Everything," which kicks off with a rocket-powered motorik rhythm, then continues with unexpected melodic shifts. "Confidential Information" has touches of reverb-y surf guitars and lounge vibes but otherwise focuses on an urgent sense of heartache. The arrangement and sound design on "Another Artichoke" is bewildering, with shooting star-like horns and cloudy synth textures floating around insistent vocals ("Please hold my hand at least one more year"). OHagans lush strings return on the final two songs, the slightly proggy "We Melt" and the mellower "Lost in Nights," which seems to fuse traces of shoegaze and 70s soul. Pia Fraus have had an impressive track record for over 20 years, but Evening Colours stands out as one of their more inventive, inspired efforts. ~ Paul Simpson