There’s a naive-art fragility to the music of Frankie Cosmos, which is the stage name of the musician and songwriter Greta Kline. Kline, who just turned 24, is the daughter of the actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates.
She just released the record, “Vessel,” with her band on the venerable taste-making Sub Pop label. Most of the songs are under 2 minutes long. She balances her taste for brevity with an impressive productivity. Kline has been prolific, releasing music in different formats online and under different names for quite a while.
Kline’s vocal melodies rise with a likeable lift. She sings with an arresting affectlessness that can bring to mind artists like Laura Veirs or Belly or even the Raincoats stripped of the clatter. The songs present a quiet and shy aesthetic. Kline sings about wanting to recede into the background. She’s said that she doesn’t drink or do drugs, and these songs that probe a kind of adolescent self-consciousness are her way of getting both in and outside herself at the same time.
Frankie Cosmos plays Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven, on Tuesday, May 1, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $18. toadsplace.com, 203-624-8623.
