Indie pop group to return with new sounds

This November will see the return of a group with a reputation for unique, yet accessible music.

Frankie Cosmos will perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 10 at ArtsRiot.

After missing the band’s performance at ArtsRiot Nov. 2015, senior Melissa Moldovan is looking forward to seeing the band live she said.

“[Greta Kline] seems pretty cool,” Moldovan said, “like down to earth and charming. I’d be her friend.”

Frankie Cosmos i
s comprised of singer-songwriter Greta Kline and a four-person band made up of Aaron Maine, David Maine, Gabrielle Smith and Hunter Davidsohn.

The group emerged out of the NYC alternative music circuit with songs originally written in private as simple home recordings, Kline said.  

Frankie Cosmos released their first studio album, “Zentropy,” in 2014. The group acquired a record deal with Bayonet Records in 2015 and  released an album, “Fit Me.” Their most recent album, “Next Thing,” was released in April.

Kline img_7621-1is the daughter of actor Kevin Kline, and began her musical training at a young age. She was trained in classical piano for 10 years, Kline said, and picked up the violin at four years old.  At 17, she adopeted the stage name of Frankie Cosmos, Kline said.

She said she greatly appreciates publicly performing songs that were made in a much more private setting. “It feels amazing,” Kline said. “I’m self-indulgent about what I write, and it’s awesome that it affects people.”

An important philosophy of Kline’s songwriting is “the ‘nothing and everything matters’ idea,” she said.  Local cartoonist James Kochalka is someone who follows this concept, and is one of Kline’s artistic inspirations.  “I want to do what he’s doing with comics with music,” she said.

Good acoustics and an engaged, considerate audience can make or break a performance, Kline said.

The group is accustomed to smaller, more intimate venues, she said, making the past few months of their tour, which have taken them across the country, a new and interesting experience.

Along with more space to play in, “it’s cool how the audience actually knows the lyrics of the songs, ” Kline said.

The group will be preceded by two acts, Big Thief and Paper Castles.

After ArtsRiot, Frankie Cosmos will continue on to Binghamton, New York.