Friko – ‘Something Worth Waiting For’ album review: A step forward, sideways and backwards
When Friko announced themselves to the world with their debut album, Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here, in 2024, the band found themselves on the receiving end of platitudes that proclaimed they’d produced an instant indie rock classic. Something Worth Waiting For doesn’t necessarily disappoint as a follow-up, but it does highlight just how good its predecessor was.
The Skinny: A trio at the time of its recording, before shedding a member only to recruit two more for the next album cycle, Where We’ve Been was an album that emerged from nowhere with a fire in its belly, a sense of earnestness in its delivery, and a true power pop sensibility mixed with delightfully abrasive texture. In a world where indie rock fans have set a high bar for standards, demanding that artists either show some outsider tendencies or have an impenetrable knack for songwriting, Friko seemingly had both.
However, the second half of their debut’s verbose title does pose an important question, and that is, where exactly does a band go to expand upon what was so close to perfection in the first place? You could either dial things up a notch and make something extraordinarily over the top in its ambition, or you could settle for another round of peddling similar ideas in an attempt to safely hold onto the fans you’ve accrued.
Unfortunately, in one sense, yet understandably in another, Something Worth Waiting For finds Friko caught at a crossroads, trying to figure out which direction could potentially serve them better in the long run. Opener ‘Guess’ showcases designs to take the scuzzy and raucous elements to another level, gradually reaching its climax with a flurry of noise, but other tracks, such as centrepiece ‘Certainty’, appear to take a slightly more formulaic approach, which sees the band comfortably rest on the heartwrenching major-to-minor chord progressions that served them so well previously.
One thing that has certainly not changed about the band is the brittle vocal delivery of Nico Kapetan, who still seems to have a lot of pent-up anxiety aching to get out, and it remains one of the most striking aspects of the band’s sound. However, this does find itself losing potency when the band dial back the dynamics in favour of being more introspective rather than having the direct punch that their debut had.
The fuller sound also demonstrates another attempt to push the band in another direction, and the production of John Congleton has introduced more lavish arrangements that weren’t explored to the same extent in their previous work, but at times, this can also turn itself into one too many coats of polish for a band that was always best when unrestrained.
Standout Track: ‘Guess’
The Verdict: Something Worth Waiting For was arguably worth the wait, and still shows just how adept Friko are at writing touching indie rock anthems, but it also presents itself as an album of contradictions, where the band had a choice to either fully abandon everything they once were or lean into what made their debut special for one last round, and ended up not making enough of a firm decision.
Release Date: April 24th, 2026 | Producer: John Congleton | Label: ATO Records
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