Frankie Rose – Interstellar
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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]