Frankie Rose - Interstellar (2012)

Is this album not significantly more experimental than School of Seven Bells? Not a virtue in itself, obviously, but that seems like a big part of the appeal in this case. It would take some doing to pin down exactly how this is so. Might even be more to do with the arrangements than with the compositions, but I feel like this album involves a pretty original framework for making music. Really like the drums and guitar, so there's a bit of a rock thing to it, definitely, but as Nitsuh said in his column last week, there is that "passing urge" again!

The new School of Seven Bells album is better than this album, but I feel it would be very inconsistent of me to apply some kind of "only one artist in this sub-genre at a time" rule given my general approach to (in particular) sub-genres of dance music.

i am not enjoying this album at all, it sounds like the kind of stuff careless talk costs lives writers swore up and down was "pop" (maybe even "perfect pop") a decade ago.

That kind of thing annoys me too - aerosmith and matt dc also generally otm on this issue.

However I haven't seen any claims made for Frankie Rose along these lines.

To put it another way: should I hate Raphael Saadiq because it's the kind of stuff careless talk costs lives writers (or maybe not them specifically, just stupid critics in general) praised for being "real R&B" a decade ago?

I get disgruntlement at wrongheaded judgment-laden critical approaches to music, and I also get how it bleeds over into to disguntlement towards the music itself but, like, what feels like a battle trench in one decade will often just look like a curious patch of earth in the next.

Ha, finding myself feeling a little rankled at the humanness of this album not being prized in the comparison to SVIIB's gauziness, I guess.

[this music] reminds me of [that music] ≠ judging frankie rose based on critical approaches, as i haven't seen any. plenty of other things i was annoyed about too.

Well then, what, in itself, was wrong with the music that ctcl swore up and down was perfect pop?

actually i'm not even sure what specific music this is now. I'm having a bit of a blank trying to remember what filled in the shoegaze-pop category in those years. BRMC were too (self-consciously) "rock" I would think.

though I guess frankie rose is like what I always vaguely imagined masonic boom projects must sound like.

it was just a vague handwavey reminder, i can't be bothered to flesh it out when i criticised frankie rose more specifically on several other counts already

something about how pat her melodies are and the bored-sounding smear of the vocals

my least favourite thing about this record are the drum sounds, easily, if they weren't so annoying it'd just be straight-up dull

DUDE. WTF?

i wish i liked this more cuz i wanna buy the fuck out of that vinyl damn

The wordless chorus on the title track strikes me as something that is very much not melodically pat occurring only about one minute into the album. Those are rock and roll chords that I don't hear much in this genre (again, since maybe Lansing-Dreiden) and she's singing in harmony over them, the harmony keeping things sufficiently sweet for the genre.

i did not expect lex of all ppl to exhume careless talk

And then there's that pretty modal guitar solo in the same song. Again, really does not strike me as being pat at all.

Pitchfork review referenced the Cure and surely you hear that in "Know Me," but are those Cure chords? I don't think they are (unless they're similar to some Cure songs I don't know).

And did the Cure, furthermore, ever have drums as tight as the ones on that song or a bass line as energetic as the one in the chorus?

I find things like this to be startling, frankly.

"My blood sugar is low / this music sucks / you guys suck" vs. "I just ate an orange / this music is awesome / you guys suck"

I'd have to call this music indie-pop or something cause it's better than "riyl The Knife"

lol an ilm thread about a record on slumberland 2012

"Night Swim" has a genuine Feelies groove, but it's a couple of other entirely different awesome things on top of that.

this is currently my favorite album of 2012.

Sorta sounds like the most restrained side of Stereolab minus the synths and communism

Pitchfork review referenced the Cure and surely you hear that in "Know Me," but are those Cure chords? I don't think they are (unless they're similar to some Cure songs I don't know).

It's more like Cocteau Twins or "This Charming Man" than The Cure, but you can hear similarities all over Seventeen Seconds and Faith.

And did the Cure, furthermore, ever have drums as tight as the ones on that song or a bass line as energetic as the one in the chorus?

"Primary" has TWO basslines that are just as energetic throughout the entire song, and the Boris Williams era of the band is pretty much defined by the precision of his drumming and the crispness with which it was recorded. Also, the beat pattern of "Know Me" is almost identical to "Close To Me".

Album just showed up in today's mail...this thing looks 100x as sweet irl.

It's more like Cocteau Twins or "This Charming Man"

You know, what the chords remind me of on that song is Felt.

did any fans of this rec get into the Blouse album from last year?

The Blouse album was okay imo, but it was never in constant rotation. However, I think I'll give it another go now.

Yeah, I thought the Blouse album was best in small doses. I've only given this Frankie Rose record one listen so far, but it hits my sweet spot.

I only have one song from that Blouse album - "Videotapes," which I loved. What are the best songs?

If anyone sees the pretty vinyl anywhere, can you send up a flare? It's not even on Discogs or eBay or anything.

this thread got me jazzed up for the album, but the few songs i've heard have been quite dull :(

it's a pretty dull album

I still like it, so whatevs. But it's no secret that I'm dull too.

This is pretty nice actually, like most of it more than the single.

Pulled this out for the first time in a few months. Nice.

Underrated as fuck

It holds up well as oppose to some other 2012 albums.

New album out in September, feeling this: https://soundcloud.com/fatpossum/frankie-rose-sorrow

thanks 4 resoure

nice

nothing's changed

Interstellar pt 2?
Fine with me

tighter tunes. really feels like something i would have really latched onto in early college

Make you feel young again?

yeah, you could say that :D

I like the new one so far

new one is really, really good

i love it

bummed my only chance to see her live this year was as franz ferdinand's opening act

I was mostly neutral on the previous album but I'm totally on board for this one.