For most of the music world, that would still be a quick turnaround. But for Kline, who has released nearly 50 records and demos since 2011, mostly through her Bandcamp page, the gap was a significant one, brought on by her shift from mostly self-recording to working with indie label Bayonet Records.
“I’m still writing as much, it’s just — the release process is a little different when you’re working with a label,” she said. “Everyone wants you to put more thought into each release.”
Frankie Cosmos, touring behind the release of “Fit Me In,” will play a 9 p.m. show Monday at the Bishop. Tickets for the 18-plus show are $10 and can be found at thebishopbar.com.
In not releasing new music every few months, Kline said she’s learned to edit herself, though her previous prolificacy — “compelling that emotion to the world” — offered a particular joy. But she said she’s also experienced the strangeness of holding onto songs with immediate, intimate emotional frameworks.
“I think the most interesting part of it is singing lyrics that have emotional weight that change meanings for you over time,” she said. “It’s an interesting exercise to try to remain emotional so you do give a good performance when you sing them ... I guess I think that a lot of the songs change meaning to me over time, and they even remain relevant to me if I think about them in different contexts.”
Kline’s ability to recontextualize and connect with older songs shows up on “Fit Me In” — opener “Korean Food” first appeared in 2013.
While Kline has spent most of her career writing and recording by herself — and occasionally with romantic partner and Porches frontman Aaron Maine — she said she’s also kept an intimate connection to her songs even as Frankie Cosmos has expanded into a four-piece band.
The next Frankie Cosmos full-length, “Next Thing,” is slated for a 2016 release, and though it will be the project’s first record to feature that configuration, Kline said she hasn’t felt any pressure to relinquish creative control.
Instead, it’s been about working with dedicated musicians who can offer ideas and arrangements to help meet her vision.
“I’m writing all the lyrics and melodies, but everyone writes their own parts and helps arrange it for the band,” she said. “I’ll never get somewhere where I’m open to changing the song’s lyrics. It’s like if, like, I had a baby and everybody helped me parent it.”
“Fit Me In,” recorded with Maine, builds on a synth-driven sound that’s new for Kline. “Next Thing,” which she called a “rock record,” doesn’t continue that path, she said, but she’d like to similarly push herself out of her comfort zone in the future.
“Fit Me In” is also the most high-profile Frankie Cosmos release since her breakthrough, last year’s “Zentropy.” That album was met with acclaim, but Kline, who was 19 when “Zentropy” came out, said she felt uncomfortable with much of the media narrative around the album focusing on her age.
“I think it’s kind of an angle about why my music should be interesting to you, and I’m kind of inclined to view art as separate from where it’s coming from,” she said. “I want people to appreciate the music not just because it’s coming from a 19-year-old ... Music has to do with the way I view the world. Whenever I develop an interest in something, I’m not inclined to delve into the creator of it.”
Kline said she knows there’s irony there. Her songs — short, colloquial, historically lo-fi — are heavily personal, so she finds humor in her own mindset of separating the art and the artist.
And while she doesn’t want to be defined by her age, she said lately she’s felt the emotionality and liveliness of youth especially strong.
“I’ve been feeling young lately,” she said. “I’m excited about every aspect of life — I’m a human, and I experience warmth and cold and happiness and food!”
