"We're called Frankie Cosmos — don't forget!"
The set-commencing command was jarring coming from such a seemingly unassuming front woman as Greta Kline, whose bedroom recordings more often than not feature the distant sound of traffic behind her quiet, poignant ditties. Her four-person band kicked off with "Buses Splash With Rain," from her recently issued first studio album, Zentropy, and gave an emphatic ending to the album's "Leonie." The set was marked by a quiet-loud dynamic, as the band tended to kick in for choruses and climaxes.
Like her recordings, the Frankie Cosmos live show is a ramshackle affair — the excellent "Birthday Song" wasn't even quite as tight as on record — but the band's charm made it feel just as important. "On the Lips" and "Embody," from two other albums (of five) that she's released in the last eight months, were pleasant as well, but it was on "Ronnie Ronaldo" that she made her most striking statement. When she offered each of the three band members a moment to "solo!!" they each purposely turned incompetent, flipping off the notion that a "band" has to be a perfect musical combo of technical virtuosos. Instead, the band revelled in their ramshackle glory as Kline laid on her back for her moment in the spotlight. Don't forget, indeed.
The set-commencing command was jarring coming from such a seemingly unassuming front woman as Greta Kline, whose bedroom recordings more often than not feature the distant sound of traffic behind her quiet, poignant ditties. Her four-person band kicked off with "Buses Splash With Rain," from her recently issued first studio album, Zentropy, and gave an emphatic ending to the album's "Leonie." The set was marked by a quiet-loud dynamic, as the band tended to kick in for choruses and climaxes.
Like her recordings, the Frankie Cosmos live show is a ramshackle affair — the excellent "Birthday Song" wasn't even quite as tight as on record — but the band's charm made it feel just as important. "On the Lips" and "Embody," from two other albums (of five) that she's released in the last eight months, were pleasant as well, but it was on "Ronnie Ronaldo" that she made her most striking statement. When she offered each of the three band members a moment to "solo!!" they each purposely turned incompetent, flipping off the notion that a "band" has to be a perfect musical combo of technical virtuosos. Instead, the band revelled in their ramshackle glory as Kline laid on her back for her moment in the spotlight. Don't forget, indeed.
