“Something Worth Waiting For” arrives as the follow-up to Friko’s exciting debut, “Where we’ve been, Where we go from here“, as well as all of the hype that record drummed up for the Chicago up-and-comers in the indie scene. It also arrives as the first effort written as a full band, as the duo of frontman Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger officially expanded to include guitarist Korgan Robb and bassist David Fuller.
The result is a more cohesive, realized collection of Friko’s guitar-driven, emotional anthems. Full of charmingly human production and killer hooks that expose Friko’s beating heart, “Something Worth Waiting For” is almost too easy to love.
With their second album, the Chicago band sheds their tough noise-pop exterior to reveal a more delicate sound—and emotional truisms to match—as they grow more confident.
Friko have shed their tough noise-pop exterior to reveal a bolder sound along with the more delicate emotional truisms that come with youthful idealism’s exposure to a more kaleidoscopic world view. Hunkering down into the sweet reminiscences of transitory experiences, the record grapples to paint a living sonic portrait of the band, with jittery rhythms meeting cathartic lyrical passages that deepen their songs’ colorful themes of solace and release. Early single “Choo Choo” explodes with frenetic energy as Niko Kapetan’s anxieties pull at the edges of his vocal range like a canvas fitted to the perfect frame.
The title track sits close to the angsty millennial indie-folk moment defined by Neutral Milk Hotel and The Shins, only it feels distinctly modern—sharp, swift, and emblematic of the extravagant atmospherics that suddenly become within reach once a band has erupted into a swarming global presence. “Seven Degrees” even echoes The Beatles’ late-career stardom, bolstering a lush premonition for the path which lays ahead.
The Fat Angel Sings 