Last night’s sold-out show at Analog featured a stacked lineup of three stellar bands: Yowler, Eskimeaux, and Frankie Cosmos. The air was thick at the venue’s upstairs stage, the sweltering heat only minorly alleviated by two dinky fans pointed towards walls. Get some more fans, Analog!
First up was Yowler, the solo project of creative genius Maryn Jones, who also fronts All Dogs and plays in Saintseneca. Sweaty-faced teens stared vacantly as Jones politely asked the sound guy for “a lot of reverb” on her electric guitar, which gracefully washed over her near-whispered vocals for her first song, “Water,” off her 2015 debut The Offer. Despite the 80+ degree weather, I got goosebumps when she sang the opening lines, “Got to disappear in some great void of water/Want to be arrested by the sound.” Jones’ set was like a casual miracle—while her vocals for All Dogs are unhinged exuberance, as Yowler she tiptoes around darker corners of her mind.
Next up was Eskimeaux, the songwriting project of Brooklyn’s Gabrielle Smith. She just released her new EP last week, Year of the Rabbit. It’s six charming, intimate bedroom pop love songs that effervesce in their unblushing vulnerability. Smith and her band mostly played songs from 2015’s O.K. and the new EP. My favorite song from Year of the Rabbit, “Sleeping Bear,” is a one-sided serenade to Smith’s slumbering partner. “Each heavy toss in our bed/My dreams become muddied and interrupted,” she sings, “But it’s a sweet reminder of/Our calm and cozy love.” The recorded track’s lullaby-like guitar riff and flawless tempo changes capture the elusive golden moment that floats between dreams and reality. Unfortunately this was difficult to translate live to a crowd full of now-soaking youths—Eskimeaux’s set thrived in its frenetic, bouncy pop songs that distracted the audience from their pitiful, sardine-like state. By this point I felt faint (as in fainting was a real possibility), and moved to the back rather than stay and tempt a certain fate.
When I was little I called pooping your pants “poop tooting.” Greta Kline, also known by the moniker Frankie Cosmos, began her set by telling the audience that she’d experienced such a function while Yowler was playing. We had a lot of questions, for obvious reasons. But she just stated it matter-of-factly before unleashing a fountain of new material from her recently released Next Thing unto the thirstiest of ears. Kline’s set was unpredictably fun—during “Buses Splash With Rain” off 2014’s Zentropy, after singing the line, “I’m the kind of girl/Who doesn’t care,” she whispered throatily, “She doesn’t give a fuck.” She and her band (which includes Smith of Eskimeaux) even shared a choreographed dance for her track “I’m 20.” Between songs she told us that, despite her untimely BM, it was their “best night of tour,” but unfortunately cut the set off a little early since it was so damn hot. Get some more fans, Analog! Jeez.