Frankie Cosmos, Out of This World
April 4, 2016
Greta Kline, better known by her stage name Frankie Cosmos, sings with her eyes closed and her brow furrowed. Her short indie pop songs are filled with quirky poetry about love, being young, friendships and the intricate innerworkings of her mind. Her voice is young and inimitable as it ebbs and flows between a soothing deepness and a bright airiness.
At 22, Kline has been releasing her DIY songs since the early 2010s. With more than 50 EPs, her Bandcamp is full of intimate songs that sound like they were made in her bedroom, drenched with her emotions. Her current project, Frankie Cosmos, is fluffier than Girlpool, not as depressing as Elvis Depressedly, reminiscent of the Moldy Peaches and Youth Lagoon — but uniquely Greta.
To mark the second day of their tour for their April 1 “Next Thing” album release, Frankie Cosmos played their second sold out show at Brooklyn’s Shea Stadium. The venue was sticky with people, the crowd a mixture of 20-somethings and bleached blonde teens with dark eyebrows and chokers. The show was intimate despite the fact that there were people packed all the way up to the six-foot-long swordfish hanging against the back wall and never-ending lines for the bathroom. Before the set, Kline spent her time dancing with a four-year-old girl, who couldn’t take her eyes off of the singer, copying her head banging and occasional arm flailing.
The set was long with many of the songs blending together due to their soft, sway-inducing vibe. The majority of the show was a run-through of the new album almost in its entirety. The songs were all well under three minutes long with constant grooves, showcases of Kline’s vocals and bright, high-pitched duets between Kline and Eskimeaux’s Gabrielle Smith. “Sinister’s” lyrics were catchy and sweet but confusing, as nothing about Kline or her music seems like it could ever be sinister. During the second verse of “I’m 20,” the keyboardist and bassist let go of their instruments and began performing strange, Macarena-like hand motions. “Tour Good” told the story of slightly losing your mind on tour and not being able to talk coherently, and “On the Lips” was a love song that also revealed Kline’s fangirl feelings toward David Blaine who recently followed her on Twitter. “Outside with the Cuties” was smooth. Its lyrics dashed the performer-audience veil, and the music ended with an echoing and vibrating keyboard solo tinged with darkness.
To end the show, the band’s focus switched away from the new album to older material like a fast, energetic version of “Being Alive” and the electronically oriented, four-song 2015 single “Fit Me In,” during which Kline put down her guitar and sang its four songs while kneeling on the edge the stage. “Buses Splash With Rain” and “I Do Too” ended the show with the dancing crowd singing every word of their witty, honest lyrics, proving that Frankie Cosmos is already the next big thing.
Frankie Cosmos’ next New York show is May 1 at Market Hotel.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, April 1 print edition. Email Gilchrist Green at [email protected].