Frankie Rose - Interstellar (Slumberland)

In the past, I’ve liked, but not loved Frankie Rose‘s solo output which up to this record consisted of just one 7” (“Thee Only One”) and an Lp on Slumberland credited to Frankie Rose and the Outs. This time, though, a few of the Outs are back, it also features backing by some other musicians as well as production work by noted remixer Le Chev. In other words, she aimed for something bigger and more expansive than the reverb-drenched noise-pop of her earlier solo work and boy did she succeed. When I first heard this record, I liked it, but spending time with it on headphones, it just gets better and better to the point where it’s now one of my favorites of the year so far. The title track starts of off as an ethereal beauty and explodes in the middle in an unexpected way and then we have “Know Me”, the first single released from the album and a jangle-pop beauty featuring Rose’s beautiful, fragile-sounding voice. From there things only get better. “Gospel/Grace” and “Daylight Sky” are even better, but it’s the dreamy, synth-based ballad “Pair of Wings”, an adaptation of Wu Li Leung ‘s “Wings to Fly”, that’s side 1’s standout and perhaps the highlight of the record. It’s almost indescribably beautiful and is in particular the one track that absolutely demands and rewards close listening on headphones. If it’s not used in a pivotal film scene in the next few years, I’ll be really disappointed.

From there, side 2 opens with “Had We Had It”, another standout. The rest of side 2 seems to merge the album’s poppier, more Felt and New Order-like moments with those reminiscent of the late Arthur Russell, one of Rose’s biggest inspirations. Though she covered his “You Can Make Me Feel Bad” on her previous album Frankie Rose and the Outs, there are many more Russell-like moments here, including beautiful album closer “The Fall”.

All in all, this is yes a bit slicker than her previous work, but in this case it’s a huge step up in terms of production, songwriting and in every other conceivable way. This will be one of my favorite albums of 2012 and heralds the emergence of a brilliant talent in her own right, not just a contributor to Vivian Girls early on (she was their original drummer and wrote the standout “Where Do You Run To” on their 1st album) and a member of Crystal Stilts and Dum Dum Girls. It’s really amazing how much talent has come out of that scene in recent years and I’m happy to see it continue to produce such great records.