Clairo and Frankie Cosmos’ Mutual Admiration Society
The songwriters Claire Cottrill and Greta Kline, who first played a show together nearly a decade ago, reflect on their deep admiration for each other, setting boundaries with fans, and coming to terms with their past selves.
On a sticky night in the summer of 2015, Claire Cottrill played one of her first-ever proper shows, opening for her musical hero Greta Kline’s project, Frankie Cosmos. “I remember seeing Greta carrying her guitar into the venue and freaking out,” says Cottrill, who was just 16 at the time, and scored the gig after personally contacting Kline via email. “I had been religiously listening to her music. It was such a big moment for me.”
Kline recalls that night at Massachusetts’ Cambridge Elks Lodge too, how the inside of her guitar fogged up from the humidity of the DIY space. She also remembers a brief encounter with Cottrill’s mom: “She was like, ’Claire won’t let us stay for the show, we’re gonna go drive around.’ It was really cute.”
Back then, Kline had already built up a catalog of self-recorded indie pop gems on her Bandcamp page. Her clever, aching, and often self-effacing miniatures empowered a generation of young artists to experiment with songwriting. Cottrill was one of Kline’s acolytes, and by the time she played that fateful opening set, she was starting to fill out her own Bandcamp page with hissy, heartbroken songs—including a cover of Frankie Cosmos’ “Leonie.” Two years later, as Clairo, Cottrill released a synth-pop ditty about losing yourself in longing called “Pretty Girl,” which skyrocketed her to viral fame and changed her life forever.
Fast forward to this September, when Cottrill celebrated the release of her third Clairo album, Charm, with a sold-out, five-night residency at Manhattan’s Webster Hall. The shows’ opener: Frankie Cosmos. “I’ve looked up to her for so long, it felt perfect,” says Cottrill of the full-circle moment.
The pair, who both also contributed covers to a forthcoming tribute album honoring the cult songwriter Margo Guryan, caught up again via video several weeks after the shows. Cottrill spoke from backstage before a show in Austin, while Kline was in her New York apartment.
