What seems like indie music’s next big sound has actually been recording since 2009. After experimenting with a batch of different monikers, New York City’s Greta Kline released the 2014 album Zentropy under her current name, Frankie Cosmos.
The new album is Vessel, her third under the Cosmos name and her first with the legendary Sub Pop label. Naturally, the music sounds tighter, brighter, and slicker than ever before but still encapsulates her charm. Kline’s songs are usually compact poems that rarely go over the three-minute mark. She has a talent for dropping subtle confessions.
On ‘Duet’, Kline writes a list of those she’s kissed, “The list is a million yous long,” she sings, “just yous all the way down.” There’s a sense of purity in her voice, under the strum of unassuming guitars.
‘As Often As I Can’ is only 36 words long at just a hair over a minute – she repeats the phrase “I love you so/I let you know/As often as I can” twice. It’s another sweet moment on the album. ‘Being Alive’ reminds her listeners that pain comes with existence, “Being alive/Matters quite a bit/Even when you/Feel like shit.”
It’s ok to feel blue, just as long as you leave time for love – that’s the mantra of Vessel.
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