After reading through great, heaping stacks of wonderfully inspirational applications, we here at the Really Very Official Sub Pop Records Scholarship Committee have chosen three exceptionally qualified student winners for our 2019 Sub Pop Loser Scholarship.
Ester - graduating from David Douglas High School in Portland - is our first place Loser winner this year. We were and are blown away by Ester’s talents and hereby recognize her as more than worthy of the $7,000 scholarship. As a Russian refugee immigrant, Ester and her family faced many hardships, but rather than let these difficulties drag her down, Ester found ways to use challenges in her life as inspiration. An incredible photo realist painter, Ester has earned one of the top student artist awards in the country for her Immigrant Experience art show and “I, America’s Poster Child,” series of paintings. Ester took time to interview her subjects firsthand to identify some of the troubling social constructs that immigrant youth in her community face. Through her art, Ester hopes to raise awareness of the difficult cultural circumstances many immigrant youth deal with and change some of their circumstances for the better. On top of being an incredible painter Ester also does film work, sculpture, and performance art. It is hard to believe Ester didn’t start art classes until high school because she is so incredibly talented! We love that Ester wants to use her ongoing arts education to help impoverished and immigrant artists better their lives and we are glad to be able to help further those goals in some small way. Alright, Ester!
Frankie - graduating from Seattle’s Nova High School - has done 600 volunteer hours at the Vera Project, an all-ages music and arts space in Seattle, as an audio engineer supporting local and national music acts. We loved Frankie’s application describing the mental hurdles she has had to overcome to persevere as a female doing live sound for artists. As a student in the Vera audio design program, Frankie started from the bottom and worked her way up through hard work and dedication. While taking in everything that her mentors at Vera had to teach about sound design and the professional attitude required to work with artists, Frankie was able to gain confidence in her skills as an engineer. As the only female sound engineer in her class, Frankie fought through deeply engrained societal expectations to become a professional, paid sound engineer at the age of 17. How cool is that?! Outside of Vera, Frankie also helped to revive the band program at her high school, which helped to empower many dormant but talented musicians in her orbit. Frankie hopes to further pursue professional audio engineering and wants to set an example that might help to bring other women and femmes into the audio field. Given all of this information, we’re proud to name Frankie our $5,000 Sub Pop Loser Scholarship winner!
Lillian - graduating from St. Helens High School - is the winner of our $3,000 Sub Pop Loser Scholarship. Lillian is the first human interested in robotics we’ve had apply for the scholarship and her application was a stunner. Her animation reel, drawings, paintings, the inspiration she drew from her robotics team, and her understanding that being a Loser means, “…having to define your own purpose when none of the preexisting options will fit,” really set Lillian apart from the other applicants. A succinct but very well-written essay with a keen awareness of what it means to be a Sub Pop Loser helped Lillian stand out from the crowd. We are happy to know that someone in St. Helens is an art program recruit, art show curator, has taken every art class possible, is out to create her own path, is inspired by other young artists, and helps artists thrive in her local community. Lillian tells us she’ll be attending OSU as a double major in robotics and art. We are deeply into it, Lillian. Go get ‘em!
And, those are our 2019 Sub Pop Loser Scholarship winners – ta-da! Thanks to everyone who applied, we loved all of your submissions! You’re an incredibly talented, inspiring bunch of people, and these were not easy decisions. We’re certain that you will all go on to blow us away with your future accomplishments.
Weyes Blood is extending her international tour schedule in support of Titanic Rising, her critically acclaimed new album, available now from Sub Pop. The “Something to Believe Tour” begins August 7th in San Diego at The Irenic and ends November 17th in Oslo at Parkteatret.
Fan presales begin Wednesday, May 22nd at 10 am (local) and run through Thursday, May 23rd at 10 pm (Local). Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, May 24th at 10 am (Local). For more up to date ticket information please visit WeyesBlood.com.
Weyes Blood will also support Kacey Musgraves on her headlining tour September 11th through September 21st.
Weyes Blood’s current “True Love Is Making A Comeback” late spring tour is underway with a show tomorrow night, May 21st in St. Paul (Minneapolis) at the Turf Club and wraps up on June 13th in Los Angeles at the Troubadour.
And Weyes Blood’s festival appearances for 2019 include Roskilde in Denmark on July 5th, Outside Lands in San Francisco on August 11th and Austin City Limits October 4th-6th.
Spring/Summer 2019 May 21 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club [Sold Out] May 22 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall [Sold Out] May 24 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern [Sold Out] May 25 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus [Sold Out] May 26 - Portland, ME - SPACE Gallery May 28 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair May 29 - New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg [Sold Out] May 31 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall Jun. 01 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s [Sold Out] Jun. 03 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl [Sold Out] Jun. 04 - Nashville, TN - The High Watt [Sold Out] Jun. 06 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada Jun. 07 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall (upstairs) Jun. 08 - Austin, TX - Antone’s [Sold Out] Jun. 10 - El Paso, TX - Lowbrow Palace Jun. 11 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf Jun. 12 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar Jun. 13 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour [Sold Out] Jul. 05 - Roskilde, DK - Roskilde
Something to Believe Tour North America Aug. 07 - San Diego, CA - The Irenic Aug. 08 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre Aug. 10 - San Luis Obispo, CA - SLO Brewing Company Aug. 11 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Aug. 14 - Vancouver, BC - Imperial Aug. 17 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom Sep. 05 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street Sep. 06 - New Haven, CT - Space Ballroom Sep. 07 - New York, NY - Webster Hall Sep. 09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater Sep. 11 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met* Sep. 12 - Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavillion* Sep. 13 - Charlottesville, VA - Sprint Pavillion* Sep. 14 - Cary, NC - Koka Booth Amphitheatre* Sep. 16 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium* Sep. 17 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium* Sep. 19 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre* Sep. 20 - Charleston, SC - Volvo Car Stadium* Sep. 21 - St. Augustine, FL - Sing Out Loud Festival at St. Augustine Amphitheatre Sep. 23 - Athens, GA- 40 Watt Sep. 24 - Richmond, VA - Broadberry Sep. 25 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar Sep. 28 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre Sep. 30 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall Oct. 01 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway Oct. 02 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck Oct. 04 - Austin, TX- Austin City Limits Oct. 05 - Austin, TX- Austin City Limits Oct. 06 - Austin, TX- Austin City Limits
Europe Oct. 26 - Dublin, IE - Button Factory Oct. 28 - Glasgow, UK - The Art School Oct. 29 - Manchester, UK - Club Academy Oct. 30 - London, UK - Electric Brixton Nov. 03 - Bordeaux, FR - IBOAT Nov. 05 - Braga, PT - gnration Nov. 06 - Lisbon, PT - ZDB @ B.Leza Nov. 07 - Madrid, ES - Sala 0 - Palacio de Prensa Nov. 10 - Vevey, CH - Rocking Chair Nov. 11 - Zürich, CH - Bogen F Nov. 13 - Berlin, DE - Bi Nuu Nov. 14 - Copenhagen, DK - DR Koncerthuset Studie 2 Nov. 15 - Stockholm, SE - Slaktkyrkan Nov. 16 - Gothenburg, SE - Oceanen Nov. 17 - Oslo, NO - Parkteatret
Titanic Rising is in stores now, and also available from Sub Pop.
Marika Hackman unveils the video for latest single “the one,” directed by Louis Bhose (Michael Kiwanuka, Lewis Capaldi, Loyle Carner). “the one” is the second single from Marika’s forthcoming third album Any Human Friend, out August 9th from Sub Pop in North and South America and AMF Records for the rest of the world.
Marika says of “the one” it “is probably the poppiest song I’ve ever written. I loved the idea of inhabiting this ridiculous arrogant rock star character who has totally fucked their career by writing too many sad songs.” The video for “the one” sees Marika’s rock star alter-ego come to life within a photocopier. By the end of the video, Marika is repulsed by the augmented reality she has created, she takes a baseball bat to it and destroys it forever.
Director Louis Bhose reflects on the process of the video’s conception:
Marika: “I want to do a performance vid in a photocopier, where the imagined rockstar in me performs with gusto as the mediocre, let-down version of me watches.” Hack Video Director: “Say no more.”
Displaying an unapologetic attitude and a more liberated sound than ever before, “the one” has been co-produced by David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The xx, Let’s Eat Grandma) and Marika herself. “the one” shows why Marika is fast turning herself into one of the most exciting songwriters of her time. Layered synthesizers make this the album’s most unexpected musical turn, alongside Marika’s signature new wave guitar fretwork and Blondie style delivery, she’s never sounded as widescreen.
Marika Hackman Tour Dates
Having recently teased new music at the BBC 6 Music Festival, The Great Escape, All Points East, and Field Day, Marika is gearing up for an exciting year of touring. Tickets for headline tour dates available from marikahackman.com.
Aug.15 - Beacon Breacons, UK - Green Man Festival Sep. 21 - Bristol, UK - Thekla Sep. 23 - Glasgow, UK - Oran Mor Sep. 24 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club Sep. 25 - Manchester, UK - Band On The Wall Sep. 26 - London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall Oct. 11 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl Oct. 12 - Durham, NC - The Pinhook Oct. 13 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall Oct. 14 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle Oct. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere Oct. 18 - Allston, MA - Great Scott Oct. 19 - Portland, ME - Port City Music Hall Oct. 20 - Montréal, QC - Bar Le ‘Ritz’ P.D.B. Oct. 21 - Toronto, ON- The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern Oct. 23 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups Oct. 24 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig Oct. 25 - Chicago, IL- Sleeping Village Oct. 26 - Milwaukee, WI - Back Room at Colectivo Coffee Oct. 28 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry Nov. 01 - Seattle, WA - Neumos Nov. 04 - Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club Nov. 06 - West Hollywood, CA - The Roxy Theatre
Any Human Friend
Any Human Friendwas co-produced by David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The xx, Let’s Eat Grandma) and Marika herself, and shows off a sharper and more liberated sound than ever before. Now available for preorder from Sub Pop: LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in North America will receive the limited Loser edition on Salmon-colored vinyl (while supplies last). There will also be a new t-shirt design available.
After recently releasing their new album ’This Mess Is a Place’, Seattle pop-punk four piece Tacocat have just announced a UK tour for this August with shows in Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff, London & Brighton. ICYMI, you can see the video for album standout track “New World”nowhere.
When Seattle band Tacocat—vocalist Emily Nokes, bassist Bree McKenna, guitarist Eric Randall, and drummer Lelah Maupin—first started in 2007, the world they were responding to was vastly different from the current Seattle scene of diverse voices they’ve helped foster. It was a world of house shows, booking DIY tours on MySpace, and writing funny, deliriously catchy feminist pop-punk songs when feminism was the quickest way to alienate yourself from the then-en vogue garage-rock bros. Their lyrical honesty, humor, and hit-making sensibilities have built the band a fiercely devoted fanbase over the years, one that has followed them from basements to dive bars to sold-out shows at the Showbox. Every step along the way has been a seamless progression—from silly songs about Tonya Harding and psychic cats to calling out catcallers and poking fun at entitled weekend-warrior tech jerks on their last two records on Hardly Art, 2014’s NVM and 2016’s Lost Time.
This Mess Is a Place, Tacocat’s fourth full-length and first on Sub Pop, finds the band waking up the morning after the 2016 election and figuring out how to respond to a new reality where evil isn’t hiding under the surface at all—it’s front and center, with new tragedies and civil rights assaults filling up the scroll of the newsfeed every day.
See Tacocat live in the UK:
25 Aug – Glasgow, Scotland – Broadcast 27 Aug – Manchester, England – Gullivers 28 Aug – Cardiff, Wales – Clwb Ifor Bach 29 Aug – London, England – MOTH Club 30 Aug – Brighton, England – The Hope & Ruin 31 Aug – Paris, France – Supersonic 01 Sep – Brussels, Belgium – Botanique 03 Sep – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Merleyn 04 Sep – Groningen, Netherlands – Vera 05 Sep – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso 06 Sep – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Alstadt 07 Sep – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Rotown 09 Sep – Nurenburg, Germany – Kantine 10 Sep – Berlin, Germany – Marie Antoinette 11 Sep – Hamburg, Germany – Goldener Salon (Hafenklang) 13 Sep – Copenhagen, Denmark – Loppen 14 Sep – Oslo, Norway – Revolver 15 Sep – Stockholm, Sweden – Obaren
Weyes Blood’s
Titanic Rising is one of the Best Albums of 2019 (so far), according to PASTE (#1), Uproxx (#1), The AV Club, Consequence of
Sound, FLOOD, Gorilla vs Bear, The Independent, The Needle
Drop, NME, NPR Music, Rolling Stone,
Stereogum, Thrillist, Treble Zine, Uncut, USA Today, and Variety.
[Photo Credit: Lloyd Bishop/NBC]
Weyes
Blood made her TV debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers performing “Everyday”
from Titanic Rising - her universally acclaimed album - and you can watch theJuly 16th
performance right here andalso here.
Weyes Blood ‘Something to Believe Tour’
Weyes
Blood’s “Something to Believe Tour” begins August 7th in San Diego at The
Irenic and ends November 17th Oslo at Parkteatret.
Weyes
Blood will also support Kacey Musgraves on her headlining tour September 11th
through September 21st. And her international festival appearances include
Outside Lands in San Francisco on August 11th, Austin City Limits October
4th-6th, Pitchfork Paris on November 1st, and November 8th in Primavera
Weekender in Benidorm, Spain on November 8th.
For
more up to date ticket information please visit WeyesBlood.com.
North America Aug. 07 - San Diego, CA - The Irenic Aug. 08 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Aug. 10 - San Luis Obispo, CA - SLO Brewing Company Aug. 11 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Aug. 14 - Vancouver, BC - Imperial Aug. 17 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom Sep. 05 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall Sep. 06 - New Haven, CT - Space Ballroom Sep. 07 - New York, NY - Webster Hall Sep. 09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater Sep. 11 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met* Sep. 12 - Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavillion* Sep. 13 - Charlottesville, VA - Sprint Pavillion* Sep. 14 - Cary, NC - Koka Booth Amphitheatre* Sep. 16 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium* Sep. 17 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium* Sep. 19 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre* Sep. 20 - Charleston, SC - Volvo Car Stadium* Sep. 21 - St. Augustine, FL - Sing Out Loud Festival at St. Augustine Amphitheatre Sep. 23 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Sep. 24 - Richmond, VA - Broadberry Sep. 25 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar Sep. 28 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre Sep. 30 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall Oct. 01 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway Oct. 02 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck Oct. 04 - Austin, TX- Austin City Limits Oct. 05 - Austin, TX- Austin City Limits Oct. 06 - Austin, TX- Austin City Limits
Europe Oct. 26 - Dublin, IE - Button Factory Oct. 28 - Glasgow, UK - The Art School Oct. 29 - Manchester, UK - Club Academy Oct. 30 - London, UK - Electric Brixton Nov. 01 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Paris Nov. 02 - Nantes, FR - SOY Festival Nov. 03 - Bordeaux, FR - IBOAT Nov. 05 - Braga, PT - gnration Nov. 06 - Lisbon, PT - ZDB @ B.Leza Nov. 07 - Madrid, ES - Sala 0 - Palacio de Prensa Nov. 08 - Benidorm, ES - Primavera Weekender Nov. 10 - Vevey, CH - Rocking Chair Nov. 11 - Zürich, CH - Bogen F Nov. 13 - Berlin, DE - Bi Nuu Nov. 14 - Copenhagen, DK - DR Koncerthuset Studie 2 Nov. 15 - Stockholm, SE - Slaktkyrkan Nov. 16 - Gothenburg, SE - Oceanen Nov. 17 - Oslo, NO - Parkteatret
On September 6th, Sub Pop will release Frankie Cosmos’ fourth studio album, Close It Quietly. This album is a manifestation of the band’s collaborative spirit: Greta Kline and longtime bandmates Lauren Martin (synth), Luke Pyenson (drums), and Alex Bailey (bass) luxuriated in studio time with Gabe Wax, who engineered and co-produced the record with the band.
Recording close to home — at Brooklyn’s Figure 8 Studios— grounded the band, and their process was enriched by working closely with Wax, whose intuition and attention to detail made the familiar unfamiliar and allowed the band to reshape their own contexts. Close It Quietly is a continual reframing of the known, taking the band’s trademark micro-universe and upending it, spilling outwards into a swirl of referentiality that’s a marked departure from earlier releases, imagining and reimagining motifs and sounds throughout the album.
The synergy of its collaboration is clear upon listening to the debut offering “Windows.” “This song takes place during the waiting period of healing, not knowing how to proceed or how to find the path to forgiveness. The inner versus the outer- learning to see yourself as part of the whole. For me the lyrics cover some of the slow movements of relationships, the shifts that occur in ways of thinking over time,” says frontperson Greta Kline. You can watch the new video for “Windows” which was directed by Eliza Doyle and Greta Kline above, and also here.
Frankie Cosmos has announced a World Tour, splitting these shows into three legs. The first leg of dates will begin on September 18 in Boston, MA, and end on Sep. 29 in their hometown of New York City. They will then head overseas beginning on Oct. 8th in Munich, Germany with shows in Prague, Amsterdam, and Paris, ending on Oct. 22nd in London. The final leg of dates will run from Oct 31st - Nov 16th with shows in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Berkeley. See below for a full list of shows.
Close It Quietly is now available for preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders of the album through megamart.subpop.com 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.
Close It Quietly Tracklisting:
1. Moonsea 2. Cosmic Shop 3. 41st 4. So Blue 5. A Joke 6. Rings (On A Tree) 7. Actin’ Weird 8. Windows 9. Never Would 10. Self-destruct 11. Wannago 12. I’m It 13. Trunk Of A Tree 14. Last Season’s Textures 15. Even Though I Knew 16. UFO 17. Marbles 18. Did You Find 19. A Hit 20. With Great Purpose 21. This Swirling
Frankie Cosmos 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 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 @ 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
[Photo credit: Jackie Lee Young]
More About Frankie Cosmos and ‘Close it Quietly’:
Close It Quietly is a continual reframing of the known. It’s like giving yourself a haircut or rearranging your room. You know your hair. You know your room. Here’s the same hair, the same room, seen again as something new. Close It Quietly takes the trademark Frankie Cosmos micro-universe and upends it, spilling outwards into a swirl of referentiality that’s a marked departure from earlier releases, imagining and reimagining motifs and sounds throughout the album. FC’s fourth studio release is a manifestation of the band’s collaborative spirit: Greta Kline and longtime bandmates Lauren Martin (synth), Luke Pyenson (drums), and Alex Bailey (bass) luxuriated in studio time with Gabe Wax, who engineered and co-produced the record with the band.
Recording close to home— at Brooklyn’s Figure 8 Studios— grounded the band, and their process was enriched by working closely with Wax, whose intuition and attention to detail made the familiar unfamiliar and allowed the band to reshape their own contexts. On opener “Moonsea,” an unaccompanied Greta begins, “The world is crumbling and I don’t have much to say.” Take that as a wink and a metonym for the whole album, as her signature vocals are joined by Alex’s ascending bassline and Lauren’s eddying synths, invoking a loungey take on Broadcast or Stereolab’s space-disco experimental pop. There’s much more than “not much” to say here, and it’s augmented and expanded by experimentation with synth patches, textures, and other recording nuances courtesy of Wax.
As the lineup has solidified into the most permanent expression of full-band Frankie Cosmos, the bandmates have felt more comfortable deviating from their default instruments and contributing bigger-picture ideas to continue pushing the sound forward. The synergy of its creation is clear upon listening: the multiple hands dipping and re-dipping into each song form a multifaceted whole. The band’s closeness and aesthetic consistency freed its members to take more musically-formal risks, notes Luke: “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.”
The album forms its own vortex of reinvention that’s embodied through both the tracks themselves and the recording and arranging processes. “A Joke” curls in on itself, in word and indeed, a series of undercuts defining negative space: “It’s just a joke I wasn’t trying to tell;” “It wasn’t really a game;” “I do not know what I am for/I wasn’t really keeping score.” Inverting technology’s human mimicry, Luke impersonates a drum machine until the song’s end. “A Joke’s” tricks scratch at something bigger, a small song embodying the laughability of attempting to neatly organize or adhere to any particular role.
“Rings of a Tree” frees itself from its original context: released earlier this year on Greta’s solo piano album Haunted Items, she didn’t initially anticipate a major deviation; then, Luke says, “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.”
“I’m just fucking glad for my bubble/despite how often it is penetrated by evil” Greta sings on “Last Season’s Textures,” taking to task the accusation that young people cloister themselves in complacency: she’s quick to point to, thank, and feel suspicious of that sphere all at once. The song explores the feeling of safety in her realm; reasonable despair re: reality (“the news is excruciating”); and a quick admission that darkness isn’t something a liberal-minded social network can block out. Kline notes how the song is “partly about misogyny and internalized misogyny–moments where I’ve felt betrayed by what is meant to be a safe space.”
Without losing any intimacy of prior albums, Close it Quietly is different, is outer. The album functions as a benign doppelganger, a shadow self of past releases; where other Frankie Cosmos records shine brightest looking inward, Close it Quietly refracts the self into the world, and vice versa, miraculously echoing Thoreau’s assertion that “when I reflect, I find that there is other than me.”
Reflection–and refraction–isn’t tidy. “Flowers don’t grow/in an organized way/why should I?” Greta sings on “A Joke.” Growth isn’t linear. Change happens in circles. While recording the album, Alex says, “I closed my eyes a lot.” Stand in the sun, listen to Close it Quietly, and do the same.
