Leaning hard into the New Wave, Frankie Rose is here with maybe her most cohesive and accessible record to date. Love as Projection, out tomorrow on Slumberland Records, is full of glittering prizes. Adopting past styles without a trace of irony, Frankie has crafted a set of tunes with bright surfaces, and emotional undercurrents. And did I mention a bag of big hooks?
"Sixteen Ways" glides in on the kind of keyboard figure that Ladytron would kill for, while "Anything", an early single, reveals itself as possibly the catchiest indie number I've heard in 2023 so far. On Love as Projection, Rose has embraced a style that would, in other hands, have descended into kitschy appropriation. Instead, like maybe only Goldfrapp or Lady Gaga, this kind of material has been made to reveal an emotional depth that's never quite totally submerged under drum-machines. "DOA", a throwback gem, unfurls at its own pace, the synth-lines as equally pristine as Frankie's cooing vocals, while "Sleeping Night and Day" conjures up memories of early O.M.D. "Come Back", a luscious cut here, is a wash of synth riffs, drum patterns, and Frankie's vocals gliding in over the mix of material. Nothing here sounds anything less than perfect, the glistening surfaces covering big, shiny hooks.
Love as Projection works so well precisely because Rose has found something genuine in a style that was oft derided as prefab and plastic. Without offering up a single guitar riff (not that I heard, at least), Frankie's sort of reclaimed synth pop on her own DIY terms. This is a record as indie in spirit as anything Frankie Rose has been a part of, but it revives a strain of keyboard-based pop with very broad, basic appeal. Catchy, smart, and just emotive enough, Love as Projection is a monstruously affecting album, and a real treasure chest of the best elements of the New Wave genre.
Love as Projection by Frankie Rose is out tomorrow via Slumberland Records.
[Photo: Esme Rogers Smith]