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The most off-putting part about Frankie Cosmos (aka Greta Kline) is that she’s still at twenty-one years old has been able to write and record and release a staggering amount of songs, EPs, and albums over the course of the past five or so years. Every 17-year-old girl, whether they’re the child of famous parents, living in New York City, and already a part of the DIY music scene, or growing up in suburbs of Washington, D.C., balancing high school field hockey practices and college applications (guess which one is me) is going through the same sort of confusion and trying to figure out who they are and what’s their place in the world.
At the beginning of her music “career” – I use quotes not to lessen her, but because Kline herself is not always apt to describe herself as a professional musician – Frankie Cosmos, or even Ingrid Superstar as she first called herself, would simply write a few lyrics, put it to some easy chords and record, upload to Bandcamp and repeat. It’s the same way that we write a few tweets a day or maybe write a page or two in a diary or a blog post detailing our days. At this point, she boasts something close to 35 albums/EPs/collections of songs on her autobiographical bandcamp page.
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It wasn’t until her first official full-length, Zentropy, that Frankie Cosmos got attention outside of the greater-New York City area DIY/indie scene. Released on SUNY Purchase’s Double Double Whammy (which now operates primarily out of Brooklyn), the album received critical acclaim for Kline’s honest lyrics and unique voice. After releasing a few short EPs via bandcamp after Zentropy, Kline released a single from Fit Me In, “Sand,” before releasing another track “Young,” before releasing the under eight-minute, four-song EP at the start of November.
Despite the addition of synths and electronic sounds instead of the familiar organic instruments, Fit Me In still maintains the sense of simplicity that propelled the band forward in the first place. In an interview with Vulture, Kline says that hearing her voice over a poppier beat it still strange, compared to the more rock-oriented music that she’s used to playing and recording. Still, it works. She also mentions her nervousness that her age (she was 19 when Zentropy was released) was her main selling point, and now that she’s the ripe-old age of 21, the novelty has worn off.
“Young,” the second song on the EP speaks to this worry, as her delicate vocals shimmer over 80s-esque keyboard synths and drums, tongue-in-cheek singing, “and have you heard that I’m so young?” She recognizes how she skipped over parts of growing up: “I heard about being young/but I’m not sure how it’s done.” By the end of the song though, she seems to have comes to terms with her age, singing, “I just want to be alive that’s it.”
Though clocking in just under a minute, EP-closer “Sand” tells a tender story of being in love in New York City. No matter how cold-hearted you are, either because of heartbreak with a person or with the city, the song will get to you in a way that nearly every songwriter hopes. Kline is inspired by Frank O’Hara’s poetry, which often tells stories of every day New York life. In “Sand,” she takes a lead from O’Hara, naming places like The Strand bookstore that everyday New Yorkers have visited at some point in their lives. There are few places like New York City that make a person feel so dead inside, but, at the same time, the city teems with excitement, liveliness, and love, as “Sand” so perfectly expresses.
Fit Me In is sonically surprising, lyrically mature, and a logical step forward as Frankie Cosmos looks to release their first LP on Bayonet Records in early 2016. If this EP is any sign – and I’m sure it is – the band will soon be recognized for much more than just Kline’s age.
The Fat Angel Sings 