“How long is the Frankie Cosmos record?”
“21 songs mate.”
“21 songs?! Jesus Christ. Bit hefty ain’t it?”
“Tell me about it.”
Frankie Cosmos’ Close It Quietly feels like a collection of half-finished songs. Only one passes the three-minute mark, only two get past the two-minute-30-second mark. With a punk or garage band this makes sense: short, fast and ferocious. Songs don’t need to be longer than two minutes, because they don’t want to deafen the audience. However, Frankie Cosmos does not play songs that are fast or ferocious, and so each song feels half-complete. Her sound and style is similar to that of Phoebe Bridgers, Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy. But where that trio excel in their sad girl story-telling, emotive songs and instrumental arrangements, Cosmos ultimately fails. The result is an album that is inoffensive but bland – like a piece of chicken that isn’t dry, exactly, but could do with a dollop of gravy to send it on its way.
Haiku Review
Half-complete album,
Songs as short as this haiku,
Lacking some gravy
Listen to Frankie Cosmos on Spotify and Apple Music.
