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New York-nativesongwriter Greta Kline has shared a bounty of her innermost thoughts andexperiences via the massive number of songs she has released since 2011. Likemany of her peers, Kline’s prolific output was initially born from the ease ofbedroom recording and self-releasing offered by digital technology and the internet.But, as she’s grown as a writer and performer, devising more complex albums andplaying to larger audiences, Kline has begun to make her mark on modernindependent music. Her newest record, Vessel, is the 52nd release fromKline and the third studio album by her indie pop outfit Frankie Cosmos. On it,Kline explores all of the changes that have come in her life as a result of themusic she has shared with the world, as well as the parts of her life that haveremained irrevocable.
Frankie Cosmos has takenseveral different shapes since their first full-band album, 2014’s Zentropy,erupted in New York’s DIY music scene. For Vessel the band’s lineupcomprises multi-instrumentalists David Maine, Lauren Martin, Luke Pyenson, andKline. The album’s 18 tracks employ a range of instrumentations and recordingmethods not found on the band’s prior albums, while maintaining the succinctlysincere nature of Kline’s songwriting. The album’s opening track, “Caramelize,”serves as the thematic overture for Vessel, alluding to topics likedependency, growth, and love, which reemerge throughout the record. Althoughmany of the scenarios and personalities written about on Vessel arefamiliar territory for Frankie Cosmos, Kline brings a freshly nuanced point ofview, and a desire to constantly question the latent meaning of herexperiences. Kline’s dissonant lyrics pair with the band’s driving, janglygrooves to create striking moments of musical chemistry.
Vessel’s 34-minute run time is exactly double thelength of Frankie Cosmos’ breakout record, Zentropy, and it is anenormous leap forward. Typically, albums by artists at a similar stage in theircareers are written with the weight of knowing that someone is on the other endlistening. Yet, despite being fully aware of their ever-growing audience, Klineand band have written Vessel with a clarity not muddled by the fear ofanyone’s expectations. Vessel’s uniquesensibility, esoteric narratives, and reveling energy place it comfortably inKline’s ongoing musical auto-biography.
Vessel was recorded in Binghamton, NewYork with Hunter Davidsohn, the producer and engineer who helped craft Zentropyand Next Thing, and atGravesend Recordings in Brooklyn with Carlos Hernandez and Julian Fader.It features contributions from Alex Bailey (formerly of Warehouse, and now partof the live configuration of Frankie Cosmos), Vishal Narang (of Airhead DC),and singer/songwriter Anna McClellan, all of whom have played on bills withFrankie Cosmos and collaborated on-stage with the band. The final mixes weredone by Davidsohn, and the album was mastered by Josh Bonati.
