Photo: Lauren Bilanko

Between 2007 and 2010, Frankie Rose was just a drummer, albeit for a number of well-known bands – she was a Vivian Girl, and then a Dum Dum Girl, and in between, she spent time filling in for New York fuzz-pop outfit Crystal Stilts. But when Rose started feeling the itch to write her own songs, she found herself suddenly thrust into a totally new role as frontwoman. Luckily, it suited her just fine: Rose’s debut album for Slumberland Records, Frankie Rose and the Outs, was a critical success, twisting the garage-pop formula just enough to differentiate her voice from that of her past bandleaders. It was only this year, however, with the release of the late-80s-inspired, synth-driven Interstellar, that she truly emerged from the shadow of her past groups. Alternately dreamy, danceable, and defiantly unique, Interstellar is the sound of an artist fully in control of her surroundings.

From a van speeding between Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, and through cellular reception so tenuous it made answering questions a near-impossibility, Rose got in touch with the Standard to discuss her growth as an artist, her preference for the studio environment, and why she can’t live on the east coast forever.

Why not “Frankie Rose and the Outs” any more?

That was my touring band, so not much has changed since the name change. I had to change the lineup because this album was super different; the instruments needed were totally different than the last album.

So it’s not a statement of purpose at all? Did you write all the songs yourself while you were with the Outs, as well?

I did. They were the live touring band. It really was just a name change. I regretted that name immediately after I chose it, actually.

Why?

It was really long! You end up being “FRATO.”

Live, you strike me as self-conscious and self-aware. Are you hard on yourself, and do you subject your own writing to major quality control?

Yeah. It makes it a lot harder. I think a lot of people don’t care that much. I really care a lot. If I take three years to make another record, so be it. I’ll do it until I think it’s perfect. I think if you don’t care, then output is a lot easier, but it’s not really what I’m interested in. I’m interested in quality over quantity. I don’t care about the amount of songs I play, I just want them to be good. I don’t want a show to be long and crappy, I want it to be short and sweet.

You’ve mentioned that you agonized over Interstellar.

Oh yeah, absolutely. I did on the first one, too, but I knew a lot less, I think. It was a real lesson for me.

There are so many new influences on Interstellar – less surf, more of an introspective ’80s feel. Are you musically A.D.D.?

Yeah. It’s sort of hard to pinpoint exactly who the references are, but I definitely didn’t want any touchstones that were obvious. I like to stick with what I know: I knew I wanted to use synths, and I knew I wanted to use sampled drums. The record definitely came in a Cure-y kind of ’80s wrap, or something, because those are the drum sounds. It’s hard to say exactly who influenced them, but it was definitely the direction I wanted.

Do you want to cover new territory with each release?

I want to keep learning, wherever that takes me. It will be different, because I will be learning more from every record. I don’t know what’s going to happen on the next one. I have no concept right now of exactly what I want to do, which is a good sign, because it means I can see where I’m at then and rethink everything. I want to learn more from album to album.

You seem to have a huge list of influences. What is the relationship, if any, between listening to a lot of music and writing good music?

It’s pretty huge, actually. I can’t say I ever listen to one thing, ever. I listen to everything, and always have, since I was ten years old. I never know what’s going to push me to write. I also know what my capabilities are, so I think about that a lot – what I’m capable of making. I want to strive to do something better every time, but I also know what my limitations are, so a lot of times references will come into play, so I’ll start wrapping my head around that. I can expand my horizons every time I write.

Do you have more freedom now to have your music sound precisely as you want it to sound?

Oh, yeah. Well, I do just because I have more time to work on it. I more time and space – I don’t have to work, and I can spend time in the studio, tweaking things to be as I want them to be. Of course, there’s a budget, but it’s not like I have two days in the studio and $500 or something.

Do you find performing live nerve-wracking, being at the front now?

I actually am starting to have a lot of fun with it. It was at first, but the more we play, the more I just have a great time on stage. I actually had a really great time last night. The audience was a little stiff, but there were a lot of industry people there last night. It felt like a New York show, for sure.

You spoke last night about moving back to California from Brooklyn. Why did you move to Brooklyn, and what would bring you back?

New York, I just wanted to do something totally different, ‘cause I was living in San Francisco, and I’d always wanted to try living there. But honestly, those winters? I’m a California girl, so I’m thinking about it. My whole family’s there.

I read that the new album is a little bit of a concept record, or at least that Ray Bradbury sci-fi novels affected the sound and track-listing of Interstellar.

It’s not so much in the album order, it’s all just sort of otherworldly. It’s an “every song takes you to another place” kind of storyline, but there isn’t an overall story. In my mind, every song is kind of like a little journey to another planet. It’s not like “this happens, and then that happens,” [not linear]. Maybe someday I’ll do that, though.

Is that why it’s called Interstellar?

You know, when we were recording, I started doing it in one studio, and I didn’t like what I was doing, so I started working with a friend elsewhere. We were listening to Daft Punk and I said, “How is there not an album called ‘Interstellar?’” All these songs that we were making on the album sounded like that, and I thought it was the perfect fit for the sounds on this album. It worked with the album artwork, too, so it just sort of came together.

Most musicians live to play shows, but you’ve stated that you’re more interested in making records. Why is that?

Actually, performing is becoming more fun for me, it really is. I really am committed to playing a good live show. If it’s not, it’s not worth it for me to do it, and I feel good about the tour I have now. But the studio is my passion in life, honestly – I’m just much more of a recording person. I enjoy being in the studio, in my pajamas, listening to sounds. Being in front of a lot of people, that’s brave. That takes bravery. People who love it, that’s amazing, and I’m learning to enjoy it, but it’s not my passion.

Records are what stand the test of time, too, I suppose.

Exactly.

You’ll play in Toronto coming up. Have you been to Canada before? Do you have any interesting stories or impressions of Toronto?

Well, one of my good friends, Alex [Zhang] from Dirty Beaches, is from there. I’ve always had a great time in Canada, actually. I’m excited!

What’s next? Are you writing on the road?

I’m not so good at writing songs on the road. To me, they’re two separate things that I do, so I have not even begun to think about it. I’m just going to give myself a lot of time to figure out what inspires me and what kind of music I want to make. I really just need to let go of this record completely and just forget it ever existed. When we’re done touring, I’ll start wrapping my head around that.

Frankie Rose plays The Shop at Parts & Labour on Wednesday, May 2.

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Stephen Carlick is a music writer in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter at @stephencarlick.

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