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As the end of one of my busiest weeks in months came to an end, I was really excited to see Frankie Rose over at Red 7. The show also featured several rising stars such as Dive and The Young, so we couldn’t complain, especially after all the work put in to make the venue more enjoyable.
Read on for our thoughts and check out Brian Gray’s photos.
| Date | Saturday, April 14th |
|---|---|
| Location | Red 7 |
| Doors | 1000 pm |
| Tickets | $8 from Transmission |
The former Dum Dum/Vivian Girl Frankie Rose hit the ground running this year with the release of her album, Interstellar. It showed a definite focus, highlighting Rose’s warm vocals in the gently constrtuced pop structures. That alone is enough to make you hit up this cheap show, but, you can also catch Dive, a new favorite of ours. The group features members of Beach Fossils, and they should be pushing their upcoming album for Captured Tracks. Oh, and that’s not enough? Well, catch Cheap Curls…another former Dum Dum Girl kicking off the night. Seems like a great place to spend a Saturday evening.
Download: Frankie Rose – Know Me [MP3]
Rating: 
Not too long ago, Frankie Rose brought you her first debut solo album under the moniker Frankie Rose and the Outs. It was an album filled to the brim with ethereal jangly pop weighed down by the dark, whispery vocals of Frankie herself. It’s been a year or two since this self-titled album and now she’s back with a second solo effort. In that time it seems that Frankie decided The Outs were ‘out’ and that she would go for the sophomore completely on her own. In this choice, she shows but a shadow of the new step of confidence that comes on Interstellar.
If you take a look at the cover of this album, you’ll find that it matches the name of the album, as well as the new direction of sound that it takes: dark, groovy, psychedelic. The album opens with the title track, with waves of synth floating in, crafting a space-y, outer galaxy feel. Frankie wafts in after, her voice as whispery as before, but by no means meek and she only gets a few soft words in before the song picks up. This energy picks up where the last album left off, showing that Frankie intends to go farther than she had before. There’s a new ferocity that seems to be egged on by the extra layer of synthesized atmospheric noise.
Said energy continues to the second track, “Know Me,” whose guitars seem to be swirling everywhere at once, backed with the energetic drumbeats that keep the song at its frantic, yet ever controlled pace. It’s controlled chaos; so many elements combining in a three-minute treat that will have you grooving right along. “Gospel/Grace” gives you some deeper, rolling beats that change the pace a bit but keeps the driving energy that is ever-present on Interstellar. This energy is what sets this album above the previous and what keeps it moving all the way to the end.
Frankie pushes her way through ten tracks in what feels like no time at all. She keeps you entertained all the way through; there isn’t a lull in energy, as the middle numbers don’t dissipate from the enticing qualities that make the beginning of this album so good. Even on the last track, “The Fall,” which lacks percussion in general, you still have the ethereal power that hangs behind Interstellar, transfixing you to start all over again, relishing in the dreamy, supernatural, atmospheric pop that is so piercing to the ear.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/02_Know_Me.mp3]Download: Frankie Rose – Know Me [MP3]
Several years ago, the Vivian Girls re-introduced us to our love of girl-pop, and since that time, numerous acts have been spawned or seen on the side. Perhaps none has caught my ear as much as Frankie Rose, who pretty much gets tied into the lot of featured girl-groups. She’s got a new record coming out on Slumberland Records on February 21 (a single comes out on the 17th of January) titled Interstellar. From this first track, there’s a huge wall of sound surrounding her dreamy vocals, which come off cool and casual. Definitely sounds like Frankie could have another hit on her hands here.
Download: Frankie Rose – Know Me [MP3]
