Frankie Cosmos’ Newest Collaborative Experiment, “Rings (On A Tree)”
Photo Credit: Jackie Lee Young
New York indie rockers Frankie Cosmos have released a new single off their upcoming work, Close It Quietly. This latest track, “Rings (On A Tree),” boasts an immensely collaborative effort, reworking a piece released earlier this year on frontwoman Greta Kline’s solo piano album Haunted Items. Drummer Luke Pyenson recounts the transition between the two versions, saying, “Lauren and I had the same arrangement idea without talking about it. Like, ‘let’s make this song funky. Let’s channel Orange Juice.’ We texted Greta and Alex before practice and Alex came in with a new guitar part that perfectly captured what Lauren and I heard in our heads.”
Though still short and sweet— a veritable hallmark of Frankie Cosmos— the new rendition straps grimy guitar riffs on top of Kline’s delicate, echoing vocals, rendering the overall sound willfully dissonant. As the tenderly soft lyrics often speak of unexpectedly dark and serious subject matter, there is a formidable element of irony present throughout the work. With just enough stripes of bass and drums to lend a direction to its rising, falling, and crashing, the song skillfully discloses the story behind its initial writing. Kline describes, “It’s a fictional tale of a breakup from the point of view of a mistress. After I wrote it, I realized what it meant to me— even though I've never been a mistress, I related to the character from being in a relationship where my feelings weren't prioritized.”
This sympathy and intimacy were perhaps strengthened further for the band while recording their fourth studio release so close to home at Brooklyn’s Figure 8 Studios. Working closely with co-producer Gabe Wax, Frankie Cosmos augmented and intensified their sound, engineering each track with synthy patches, rugged textures, and other recording nuances exemplifying their spirit of experimentation. Luke speaks to this sense of exploration, explaining, “Everything will sound like Frankie Cosmos because Greta has such a distinct voice (literally and figuratively). We have so much latitude to experiment with the instrumental music, and this time around we really took advantage of that.”
“Rings (On A Tree)” follows in the wake of another new single off of Close It Quietly, lead track “Windows.” While it also includes quick transitions from quiet to loud and slow to fast, “Windows” does so in a much more soft and contented manner, nimbly swinging from one moment to the next. The music video also captures these swift movements, showing two friends constantly changing their mode of transportation throughout a day, from running arm-in-arm, tethering a skateboard to bike, scootering across the bridge, to gliding in a large SUV.
Both “Windows” and “Rings (On A Tree)” hint at the richness of the rest of the anticipated compilation, which serves as the band’s first proper album since 2018’s Vessel. Close It Quietly will have three more tracks than their last release, putting it at a total of 21 and only slightly deviating from their normal standard of brevity. Close It Quietly is set to come out September 6th and is now available for preorder from Sub Pop. Excitingly enough, its LP preorders through Sub Pop and select independent retailers in North America, UK, and Europe will receive the limited Loser edition on blue pearlescent (North America) and opaque yellow (UK/EU) while supplies last.
Frankie Cosmos have also announced a world tour, to commence immediately after Close It Quietly’s release. Splitting it into three legs, they will kick off their tour in Boston and end in their hometown of New York City. They will then head overseas for a sojourn in Europe, and then finish the final leg of dates in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Berkeley. Buy your tickets here for the show closest to you.
Tour Dates
Sep. 18 - Boston, MA - Royale
Sep. 19 - Burlington, VT - Arts Riot
Sep. 20 - Montreal, QC - L’Astral
Sep. 21 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
Sep. 22 - Detroit, MI - Deluxx Fluxx
Sep. 23 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
Sep. 25 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
Sep. 26 - Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit Hall
Sep. 27 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
Sep. 28 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA
Sep. 29 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
Oct. 08 - Munich, DE - Heppel & Ettlich
Oct. 09 - Vienna, AT - Chelsea
Oct. 10 - Prague, CZ - Underdogs’
Oct. 11 - Cologne, DE - MTC
Oct. 12 - Luxembourg, LU - Rotondes
Oct. 13 - Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoet
Oct. 14 - Paris, FR - Badaboum
Oct. 15 - Reims, FR - La Cartonnerie
Oct. 16 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
Oct. 17 - Bristol, UK - Exchange
Oct. 19 - Leeds, UK - Belgrave Music Hall
Oct. 20 - Sheffield, UK - Delicious Clam (Sold Out)
Oct. 21 - Manchester, UK - Night & Day
Oct. 22 - London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall
Oct. 31 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
Nov. 01 - Tacoma, WA - Alma Mater
Nov. 02 - Vancouver, BC - Hollywood Theatre
Nov. 03 - Seattle, WA - Laser Dome at Pacific Science Center
Nov. 07 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
Nov. 08 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
Nov. 10 - Tucson, AZ - Hotel Congress
Nov. 12 - Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
Nov. 13 - San Diego, CA - Che Cafe
Nov. 15 - Los Angeles, CA - 1720
Nov. 16 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre
