
Album of the Week: Frankie Rose
Cage Tropical Out Now via Slumberland/Grey Market
Aug 11, 2017 Frankie Rose
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If anyone expects a complete reinvention from Frankie Rose following a four-year absence (her last album being 2013’s Herein Wild, her only record for Fat Possum), especially given that this is a return after a series of personal setbacks sent her back to Brooklyn after a stint in her native Los Angeles, they’ll be disappointed. Unlike 2012’s Interstellar, which signaled a massive chance in sound and style for the former garage-pop drummer for such outfits as Vivian Girls (of which she is a co-founder) and Dum Dum Girls, this adds to her formidable catalog without reinventing the wheel. And since Interstellar, she’s been mining similar territory, that being her own unique brand of ‘80s Arthur Russell-influenced, synth-laden, nocturnal and woozy dream-pop that’s practically its own sub-genre at this point. This is no exception, though what makes this album stand out is its lyrics and song titles inspired by sci-fi and other paranormal subjects (there is even a song named after broadcaster Art Bell here). Sure, if one put songs from all three of her last albums on shuffle for an uninitiated listener, one could easily think they’re part of a triple album. That is far from a bad thing. With music this catchy, inventive, and singular, we can only hope for more records from Rose in the future.
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