Los Angeles - While Greta Simone Kline, better known as Frankie Cosmos, may have celebrity blood coursing through her veins, she represents anything but the Hollywood elite. Of course, that may be affected by the fact that her father is the well-respected and award winning actor Kevin Kline and not some out of touch industry insider. Blending the heavily DIY aesthetics of K Records with an ability to craft compact but unforgettable indie pop, it is no shock that Frankie Cosmos has become one of the most revered new artists in the underground scene. Just before the madness of Coachella was about to get underway last week, she headlined at The Echo in Los Angeles. Opening in a supporting role was her keyboardist Gabrielle Smith’s “buzzed about” band, Eskimeaux.
Much like her peers in Girlpool (who coincidentally made an appearance on stage behind Frankie Cosmos during one song), Cosmos specializes in honest and emotionally vulnerable indie pop that is jam-packed with quirky hooks and song structures. Despite appearing demure and understated on stage between songs, during the actual performances she was anything but. Her fast-paced guitar was constantly changing stride, with “Too Dark,” “Tour Good,” and “Embody,” well embodying this technique to a “T.” Most of her songs rarely reach the two-minute mark. This allowed Cosmos to pack her set with close to twenty different songs over the course of about an hour. She visited everything from the newest tracks from her acclaimed full-length studio album Next Thing to her older self-released bedroom output.
She began her set by performing songs off of her second studio LP, Next Thing (Bayonet Records), which has been met with critical acclaim nearly everywhere. Some outlets have even claimed it is among the best albums of a still very young 2016. Because her songs are so short and to the point, she was able to fit nearly every song on Next Thing into the beginning of her set. Being able to perform close to an entire album during a set is proof of the incredibly consistent nature of her music. No song served as filler, each with those trademark start-stop verses, high register harmonic vocals, and a surprisingly aggressive drum attack.
After she finished showing off her latest output, Frankie Cosmos took a look into her rich back catalog. While she has only released two “proper” albums, she has used her Bandcamp profile to grow a large and dedicated following, releasing dozens of recordings, some under her former stage name Ingrid Superstar. The first old song she performed was “bus bus train train” from her 2013 album DADDY COOL. Another standout of the four older songs she performed was “Young” from the 2015 EP Fit Me In. This song stood apart from her mostly garage pop punk, trading the guitars in for a lo-fi electric drum track and dancy handclaps.
Before Frankie Cosmos took the stage, her keyboardist and background vocalist Gabrielle Smith took the stage to perform as Eskimeaux. With a sound that was not far off from Cosmos, but with a little more fidelity and pop focus, her set was a great warm-up for the sold-out crowd (many of whom were using this show as a warm-up to Coachella).
Frankie Cosmos and Eskimeaux continue their tour through April, heading eastward via the Upper Midwest with stops in Minneapolis, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Thr tour will conclude in Brooklyn. Find out more on the Frankie Cosmos Facebook page.
Matt Matasci
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