Greta Kline wishes she’d written “Good Intentions Paving Company” by Joanna Newsom. Greta Kline says that Eminem’s “Stan” is the greatest song of all time. Greta Kline is Frankie Cosmos, and Greta Kline is a better songwriter than you are.
If you haven’t heard of Kline or Frankie Cosmos, her appeal can best be explained by Frankie Cosmos fans. I asked a few friends for their favorite Frankie Cosmos song lyrics, and each immediately had multiple songs in mind. There were no overlaps between any of their answers, and none of their answers matched my answer. The range of responses is partially due to the sheer amount of material Greta Kline has released–over 40 albums since 2011–but also an effect of how personal her music feels to everyone who listens to it.
This year’s excellent Next Thing was the second full-length Frankie Cosmos album recorded in a studio, following 2014’s Zentropy, and the first released via the Bayonet Records imprint. The shift from homemade song sketches to fully fleshed out studio arrangements hasn’t fazed Kline. “[It] Would be cool if it was possible to record music and make it sound really nice in a studio and have it be full band, but also be really comfortable and naked in my bed at the same time,” she writes in an e-mail. “Someday.”
“Next Thing” album artwork, 2016, courtesy of Bayonet Records.
With her steady increase in popularity and her continued aptitude for writing heart-stopping lyrics, her tour stops have become more and more like group singalongs. “I wish I could remember the first time [the audience sang with me],” she says, “but It still feels totally shocking and cool when that happens.”
In Frankie Cosmos songs, it’s often the small details that hit home and make the songs instantly memorable. “On the Lips”, a song originally released on Bandcamp in 2013, opens with the lyric “I watch David Blaine / and find myself believing / in many things.” The wit and depth of this one-liner is typical of Kline’s songwriting, and this line in particular even caught the attention of magician David Blaine himself. Kline says doesn’t know how Blaine heard about her song, but refers me to the people behind “David Blaine’s The Steakhouse”, a cheekily named DIY venue in Brooklyn. “You’ll have to ask the DBTS crew about their name–but I can tell you that Cameron from DBTS is who got me into watching a bunch of David Blaine videos.”
Frankie Cosmos, whether defined as a band or as Kline’s solo project, has far progressed past its humble home-recorded beginnings. It’s very much a touring band now, as evidenced by multiple references on Next Thing to tours, vans and rest stops (where Kline’s go-to snack to pick up on tour is “Bugles and water”). This sense of perpetual motion is reinforced by the album art: an illustration of a highway sign next to a nondescript field, as viewed through a passenger-side window.
Discussing the high points of touring, Kline says that “One of the most memorable venues we have played at was Meow Wolf,” referencing the Santa Fe venue/art installation. The venue’s design approximates the Lost Boys village from Hook if it were given a facelift by whoever designed those glow-in-the-dark mini-golf/arcades that were trendy in the early aughts middle school birthday party scene. It seems an odd fit for the sound of Frankie Cosmos, but it’s clear the earnestness of its aesthetic presentation is what attracts Kline. “It’s a really amazing installation that you get lost in and it’s beautiful,” she writes.
After recently returning from extensive tour of Europe, Kline confirms her music is still evolving even while on tour: “I’ve spent up to a few years tweaking and changing these songs. I’m still making changes to the ways we play certain songs from Next Thing live.”
Check out Frankie Cosmos and her still-changing songs at Starline Social Club in Oakland on October 6th. Win tickets via a B-Side giveaway here.