One Track Mind

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On September 1st, Los Angeles based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Orendy will release his debut record as Frankel. Orendy recorded Anonymity is the New Fame at his home studio, bringing his piano driven pop compositions to life in a comfortable, familiar environment. That sense of ease translates into Frankel’s music, which is imbued with warm tones and a classic approach to melody and structure which harkens back to the sophisticated pop of the late 1960s.

The title track from Frankel’s debut begins with a rolling piano part before Orendy’s cool vocals take the stage. As the song progresses, the instrumentation on “Anonymity is the New Fame” becomes increasingly layered. Acoustic guitars cede control to wildly distorted riffs, then wrest control again. The song has a percussive bounciness which makes its many quieter interludes all the more potent, and when the track makes its final gesture, it is not a bang but a graceful bow to the audience. Lyrically, the track is Orendy’s battle cry–a Twitter-eschewing ode to the virtues of the sheltered if not quite reclusive artist.

“Anonymity is the New Fame” showcases both Orendy’s talent for penning a winning song and his grasp of how to further flatter his tunes with the appropriate production. Whether it will be edgy enough for a hip audience remains to be seen, but something tells me Orendy is unconcerned with scoring cool points. He’s happy to write great songs, and on that front, he is clearly succeeding.