Friko’s debut, Where We’ve Been, Where We Go from Here (2024), was the type of record that made many of us sit up and take notice. Their mix of shaggy, noisy guitars and melodies is an irresistible mix for my demographic, and I, too, fell under their spell. As fun as the debut was, it left me with the feeling that even better days were ahead. For a more jaded listener, it’s possible for someone who didn’t fall for the record to point to the easily spotted reference points. Fine, but cut them some slack. Plenty of bands who create compelling debuts wear their influences on the sleeves of their flannels.
Now, Friko are back two years later, newly signed to ATO Records, and the spectre of expectations weighs heavily. Fear not, there is no sophomore slump. Friko seem to be taking the hype straight on with the title, Something Worth Waiting For. If you enjoyed the band’s winning swirl of Dinosaur Jr. fuzz and screech with Guided by Voices-style power pop, you will find that here, and those tracks deliver a sugar rush that’s perfect for my desire to embrace spring, windows-down drives. However, it is the other half of the record that truly surprises,
The influences are still pretty easy to pick out, but it is just as easy to take pleasure in this collection of nine songs, which finds Friko leveling up with a stronger sense of purpose and urgency. Producer John Congleton has a reputation for bringing out the best in the bands he works with (witness his resurrection of Death Cab for Cutie on their best-of-age Asphalt Meadows from 2022). Here, he makes the group’s youthful energy burst from the speakers with a confidence that was missing from their debut.
The first few tracks are a highly successful deepening of the jangly, noisy indie rock that made bespectacled record collectors like me take notice. Opener “Guess” builds and builds to a massive, anthemic blast mid-song before receding. “Still Around” takes that up a notch by adding a dash of Britpop flair. “Choo Choo” is an insistent hook machine with a series of instantly memorable sections. Early single “Seven Degrees” finds a blissful middle ground between the blasts of distortion and the more reflective tracks, and the title track provides the record with a late-stage blast of energy.
These opening tracks set up a left turn into a suite of quieter, more reflective tracks that take risks and deliver rich rewards. One of the more striking aspects of Something Worth Waiting For is the way Friko excel at the more subdued, pretty tracks. “Alice” unfolds beautifully, recalling the power pop of another great producer/songwriter, Jon Brion. That song and “Certainty” provide a one-two that is the prettiest stretch on the record, with strings making this track soar. Closer “Dear Bicycle” completes the trilogy of flat-out gorgeous ballads.
Countless bands ride a wave of momentary hype and are just as quickly discarded, even if they keep on going. It is truly exciting to see Friko level up what they do best on Something Worth Waiting For, but it’s still likely they will eclipse this excellent release later, whether they continue on this path or forge new ones. For now, they have delivered another excellent collection of songs destined to be loved by their ever-expanding fanbase.