A callback to the brand of 2000s indie rock, Friko manages to hone into their influences and make their style of dramatic indie rock work in their debut project. While the lack of stronger hooks makes this deflate more than it should, the leaner display of expressive performances, compositions, and writing on ‘Where we’ve been, Where we go from here’ allows the shambling emotions to seep through.
Friko clearly knows their flair in indie rock tapestry that they’re roping in their debut project, specifically the more dynamic and dramatic brand in that genre wherein there is a willingness to develop these melodies and indulge in a bit of theatrical mood to boot. Throwing back to the 2000s and parts of the early 2010s when these characteristics are prominent in a lot of the indie rock acts that are brewing up during the time, even so far as going beyond the fences to allow magnetic musical gallops to fly away in momentous fashion. And given recent acts like BCNR capture those dramatic swells in compositions and writing leading to stellar impact, it does pave the way for acts like Friko to drop down and find their own footing within this sound.
For the most part, Friko does succeed in encapsulating these momentous compositional and tonal swivels reflected through Niko Kapetan’s expressive vocal quips and raucous guitar passages as well as Bailey Minzenberger’s feverish drumming, helped even further through the production that makes the ragged soundscapes have enough space in the mix. When it goes for broke, the duo does get into exciting melodic swerves. ‘Where We’ve Been’ opens up with lilting acoustics before the rest of the instruments burst along, allowing for the song to pick up its gradual bombast effectively. ‘Crashing Through’ and ‘Get Numb To It!’ opt for quicker rhythmic shuffles that allow the sticky hooks to land harder. The softer string-kissed ballads of ‘Cardinal’ and ‘For Ella’ are glacial moments that give the album to pace steadily and are a natural sonic space for Niko’s vulnerable rawness to seep through. Then there is ‘Chemical’, an apt title for a song that is fraught with melodic frictions executed ecstatically even despite the lack of a hook.
Continuing through with the essence of 2000s indie rock, the fractured expressiveness tailors the narrative it imparts. An anxious rumination about friendships and relationships has slipped away from Niko, eventually amplifying the shaky position he is in due to the time that’s passing by. As the album progresses, Niko gets even more fraught as he has to deal with the eventual deprecating emotions slipping back and forth as he muses through friends and relationships that are not in his current space, questioning himself on what direction he should go from this murky state of mind. Yet, on the ending song ‘Cardinal’, the dour tone that was built up before has now crushed Niko down after all that sense of internal guilt that he has felt, especially from people he cared about now gone and he has to keep on living. A quietly dispiriting conclusion for an arc that rambles within its dim situations.
Now, while the overall grand indie rock sweeps and the emotional charge of the performances and writing do work, the faults do start to be a bit transparent once further listens have been given. Mainly pointed toward the melodies themselves, the lack of emphasis on building up stickier hooks means that a lot of the songs start flickering out despite the dramatic presentation that is on display. And it doesn’t actually help that there are moments where certain songs just don’t stand out that much compared to the snappier high points of the project, like the cyclical repetitiveness of ‘Statues’ or the chiming sentimentality of ‘Until I’m With You Again’, even if the emotions that were displayed does tie into the numbed musings within the arc of the project.
A project that lays down the band’s future potential, ‘Where we’ve been, Where we go from here’ is an immediate first showing for a band that knows their sonic influences and leans on that dramatic indie rock swell with enough potent song-crafting and songwriting remarkabilities to allow its shaken narrative to work. Not exactly a project that bucks off to excellence by any means, where there are songs that don’t showcase the sharper melodic focus of its best moments, and the wilting approach to hooks can make the power of the project deflate. Despite that, if this is where the band eventually starts, where they’re gonna go from this starting point is going to be nowhere but up, an elevated field where their exciting sound sparks even higher.
Favorite Tracks: ‘Where We’ve Been’, ‘Crashing Through’, ‘For Ella’, ‘Get Numb To It!’, ‘Cardinal’
Least Favorite Track: ‘Statues’