9/12 on the patio Tickets FRIKO Doors 7 Show 8 18+ When Friko delivered their debut album Where we’ve been, Where we go from here, the Chicago-based band introduced a galvanizing new voice into the indie-rock canon. Both uncompromising in spirit and thrilling in impact, the 2024 LP landed on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of Pitchfork, the cover of NME, and led to glowing acclaim from Rolling Stone, Paste, NPR Music, and SPIN (who noted that the album “places them in a lineage of great indie- and alt-rock acts…bands with prominent weird streaks, arena-sized potential, and the chops to build a bridge between the two”). In the making of their sophomore full-length, vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan, drummer Bailey Minzenberger, guitarist Korgan Robb, and bassist David Fuller gained a powerful new clarity on their purpose and vision while embracing an even bolder sense of abandon, exploring everything from noise-rock to avant-garde classical to ’70s-era symphonic balladry. Equal parts sonically extravagant and emotionally searing, Something Worth Waiting For ultimately locates a wildly elusive balance between the wide-eyed idealism of youth and the self-possessed grit of lived experience. Produced by John Congleton (a Grammy Award-winner known for his work with St. Vincent, Mannequin Pussy, Mogwai, and more), Something Worth Waiting For marks the first Friko release to feature Robb and Fuller, who joined the band in the midst of their globe-spanning tour in support of their full-length debut—an endeavor that included headlining shows all over North America, England, Europe, and Asia (and achieving remarkable success in Japan, where they performed at Fuji Rock Festival then quickly returned for a sold-out show at Tokyo’s 1,000-capacity Kanda Square Hall), as well as touring with seminal alt-rock acts like The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse. As they assembled songs for the new album, Friko mined inspiration from their endless state of motion over the past two years, arriving at a body of work that speaks to a more existential form of movement. “If the general theme of the record is transit, then the title gets at the idea of always moving toward something you never quite seem to reach,” says Kapetan. “That might sound pessimistic, but maybe the reaching isn’t necessarily the point,” Minzenberger adds. “I think life is meant to bring new experiences so that your world is ever-expanding, and not about constantly striving to achieve one particular thing.” While Something Worth Waiting For often embodies a frenzied intensity, the album tilts toward the ecstatic on songs like lead single “Seven Degrees”—a sing-along-ready anthem born from a linguistic misunderstanding on Kapetan’s part. “For a long time I thought the saying was ‘seven degrees of separation’ and not ‘six,’” he explains. “There’s a lightness to that song but really it’s about connection, and trying to stay close to the people you care about.” Another hit of pure unbridled e...
