Album Review: Frankie Cosmos - Next Thing
By Carter Hickman, Contributor
[Bayonet; 2016]
Rating: 7/10
Key Tracks: “Outside With The Cuties,” “O Dreaded C Town”
Frankie Cosmos has been gaining a lot of recognition in the bedroom pop scene recently, especially since her 2014 debut studio release, Zentropy. This has been a long time coming for Cosmos, as she’s been releasing independent recordings since 2011, and quite a few of them too (51 to be exact, which can all be found on her Bandcamp page).
Known for her short, heartfelt, soft songs, Cosmos stuck to her roots on her latest release, Next Thing. The album doesn’t feature anything unexpected, but each of the 15 songs are fun and pleasant. This album is made up of simple bass lines, moving melodies, and a moderate tempo drum beat that basically stays the same throughout the whole album.
There are only two songs on this album that seemed to stand out from the rest, “Outside With The Cuties” and “O Dreaded C Town”. Both these songs are slower from the rest of the album and a little more eerie. “Outside With The Cuties” features a very interesting and unsettling synth melody towards the end of the song which is prone to give any listener the heebie-jeebies (in a good way). “O Dreaded C Town” only includes Frankie’s voice, a couple chords on a keyboard, and a slow raindrop beat. These three ingredients come together to make a very heartfelt, genuine and sad (love?) song.
The rest of the album is a nice, easy listen, and can be extra nice if listened to outside on a sunny day. While it’s an enjoyable listen, it lacks climaxes, adventurous riffs, and anything outside-the-box, as each song drones on from one to another. Frankie’s music is in a very specific niche, and is loved by a lot people, but if she keeps making the same album over and over, people are going to get bored and move on. Her stagnant and slacker-esque style is enjoyable for a while, but will most likely grow old quickly. Because of this, it may be time for Cosmos to go in a different direction if she wants to keep making important music.
