Something Worth Waiting For

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🗣️ <i>A generation-defining rallying cry from the Chicago indie scene that launched Horsegirl and Lifeguard.</i> <b>The story:</b> Since forming in 2019, Friko has been at the center of a fertile Chicago indie-rock scene that’s launched fellow foot soldiers <b>Horsegirl</b>, <b>Lifeguard</b>, and <b>Sharp Pins</b> to national attention. But on their second album, Friko sounds ready to take on the world. From the moment the opening track <b>“Guess”</b> flips the switch from street-busker soliloquy to rocket-launching cacophony, <i>Something Worth Waiting For</i> immediately feels like a generation-defining rallying cry for a cohort that’s been beaten down by a pandemic, chronic economic insecurity, and one geopolitical crisis after another, yet refuses to give in to despair. <b>Influences:</b> Friko is the natural heir to a strain of frazzled yet bedazzled indie rock that runs through <b>Neutral Milk Hotel</b>, <b>Bright Eyes</b>, and early <b>Arcade Fire</b>. <b>Standout tracks:</b> In frontperson Niko Kapetan, the band possesses a raspy-voiced Pied Piper whose bloodshot eyes belie a burning heart that thrusts raggedly glorious insta-anthems like <b>“Still Around”</b> and <b>“Hot Air Balloon”</b> to their ecstatic peaks. But even in the quieter moments, Friko projects an invigorating intensity: <b>“Certainty”</b> is a chamber-pop operetta that will have you reaching for the nearest chandelier to swing from, while <b>“Seven Degrees”</b> is a triumphant saloon sing-along that channels Bowie in his <i>Hunky Dory</i> heyday.

via Apple Music