Frankie Cosmos continue to fulfill their potential on 'Vessel'

by Preston Radtke Frankie Cosmos has quickly become more than just a forlorn, artsy, indie minstrel. The time of chalking Greta Kline and Co. up as “just another bedroom act” faded right before Zentropy, the outfit's first proper studio release. Tracks like “Owen” and “School” found the band fusing catchy, DIY instrumentals with poetic, heartfelt lyrics dealing with realistic and visceral topics. Next Thing, the more critically lauded 2016 studio release, was slightly more experimental than Zentropy, delving into more unconventional song structures. Meanwhile, Greta Kline’s “every kid” persona remained, fortified through anthems like “Sappho” and “Too Dark.” In the following two years, the band remarked on a nationwide tour, played Pitchfork Music Festival, and lead singer Greta Kline was featured on What I Want, the short-lived Brooklyn garage rock band who released their sole album last year. But the band’s crowning achievement of the year happened when they signed with legendary indie label Sub Pop. It was a hint that the band was near their arrival into the indie mainstream for good. 2018’s Vessel is everything that Frankie Cosmos is and should be: emotive themes, poetic lyrics, and self-deprecating humor. As was the case with Next Thing and Zentropy, Frankie Cosmos has marvelously captured the essence of a movement and even a generation. Kline and friends shoved away any hints at complacency with the tighter and more complex instrumentals and song structures. It seems the complexity of the band’s instrumentation is ever-changing in line with the people playing them.

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