Piera are a Los Angeles duo named after lead singer Piera Klein. Though they define themselves as “dark electronic-synth” their version of “I Think We’re Alone Now” sounds not at all like that. Instead, the vibe is very dream pop.
“I Think We’re Along Now” is familiar to many if not most listeners from Tiffany‘s chart-topping cover in 1987. But originally it was a Top 5 20 years earlier for Tommy James and the Shondells. Tiffany’s version adds an intro not in the original and a very ’80s dance beat. Her singing is considerably more dramatic than James’ in the original, but otherwise the versions are pretty similar. There is a synth break in the Tiffany version that is obviously absent in the original.
It’s always fun when listening to a cover of a song that has a really popular cover to try to figure out whether it’s inspired by the famous cover or the original (or some other less famous version). In this case it feels like Piera are at least a little inspired by the original – Tiffany’s intro is completely missing, as is the ’80s dance beat and there is no synthesizer break.
Instead, there’s a spin on the classic double beat so often used in pop in the drum patter and there are classic dream pop shimmery guitars. To Klein’s great credit, she doesn’t always sing the vocal melody like we expect. She mostly sticks to it but she adds little changes, such as in the prechorus where she slows it down. The instrumental breaks are just Michal Plissner playing without Klein’s voice.
The cover is a nice spin, very much capturing the spirit of “dream pop cover.” And there enough idiosyncrasies in Klein’s delivery to make it feel fresh. Check it out:
