AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Think about your mid-20s for just a moment. You might be a couple years into your career. Around you, people are in serious relationships. And you may have had this thought - have I been making the right choices?
(SOUNDBITE OF FRIKO SONG, "GUESS")
RASCOE: Members of the Chicago band Friko have been thinking about that.
NIKO KAPETAN: Like, when we ran the first record, I felt lost in the sense where there was no direction where my life was going. I was working in a warehouse. And we were - like, I was trying to play music, and we were having a good time doing it. But, like, you know, we weren't making much headway yet. And now, like, you know, we - music just barely pays the rent. But there's a new lostness that you feel that I think every period of life.
RASCOE: Niko Kapetan sings and plays guitar and piano, and Bailey Minzenberger sings and plays guitar and drums in Friko.
BAILEY MINZENBERGER: I had a bit of an existential crisis when I turned 20. I remember having that feeling really, really intensely, of, like, I feel like I don't have any direction. I don't know what I'm doing. And so as I've gotten older, I've been trying to pay attention to that sentiment of, like, what does it actually mean to feel like you have direction? And I feel so abundantly grateful to be a part of the Chicago music scene and to be playing with Friko and some other bands in the city, too, because that is the grounding point.
RASCOE: Friko's second album is called "Something Worth Waiting For." Kapetan and Minzenberger have known each other since music theory class in high school, but only started playing together later. They've been on the road a lot, touring as a headliner and also with Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips. They have a raucous sound, which they've translated to their studio albums.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GUESS")
FRIKO: (Singing) Don't make me guess if that's a cry or a laugh.
KAPETAN: Did our first EP in the middle of COVID. We hadn't really played as a band very long, so we thought that was the way to do it. And by the time we got to the first record - "Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here" - we were like, we want to put our live show on tape. And that feels honest to us.
MINZENBERGER: There is a level of it that is unconscious and, in a way, unintentional. That is the way that we perform together. And I think there's so much passion and vulnerability and energy in the way that he plays and the way that I like to play.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STILL AROUND")
FRIKO: (Singing) The sun starts setting. There's always someone letting you down. But still, there's salt in every kill. All is not a…
RASCOE: They got into the studio with legendary indie rock producer John Congleton and had a tight deadline to record.
KAPETAN: It was exhausting, especially with this kind of music. But, like, it was really exhilarating to record a record within two weeks 'cause it's kind of the classic way of making a record.
MINZENBERGER: Having limitation can also sometimes offer more creative expression because it gives you less of an opportunity to overthink. And it's, like, finding the balance of caring so, so deeply but not being too precious.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STILL AROUND")
FRIKO: (Singing) It only starts to come when you need it most. It only starts to come when you need it most. It only starts to come when you...
KAPETAN: Repetition kind of naturally became a part of a lot of - once we started adding that into some of our earlier songs, we kept that as a motif. When we first started, we were a three-piece. And so we could only fill space with the guitar, the bass, the drums and then the vocals. And so using that repetition and, like, building harmony on top of it every time was kind of a good way to fill that space.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CERTAINTY")
FRIKO: (Singing) Only once in a while. Now you're out through the door with the sun in your eyes.
KAPETAN: We always love working with strings. There's only certain songs you can do it for with rock stuff without it feeling, like, way too much. But the whole band - I mean, we have this dream of, like, playing a show, everything fully orchestrated. That would just be a dream for us.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CERTAINTY")
FRIKO: (Singing) Nap on the way, out past the school where those children would play. And the shine...
KAPETAN: I kind of had this story of going about my day of life when I used to work in this warehouse, and ending up at the lake and then sailing out. And once I got to that point, I was like, what'd be really cool way to, like, connect this with the larger theme of the record? And then it ended up being this hole-in-the-sky-type, "Truman Show" thing.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CERTAINTY")
FRIKO: (Singing) The background. As soon as you sail to that wall in the sky, notice the crack in the cloud to your right. So you tap on it once...
MINZENBERGER: The past couple of years, we've been touring so much. You're separated from your community. And, like, you have your little band family in the van with you, and you get to meet so many new, wonderful people around the country. And it's such a blessing. It's really a beautiful thing. But being away from home for that long is quite sad 'cause life keeps moving. And then you come home, and then you kind of have to, like, play catch-up with everybody. That can feel pretty ungrounded sometimes.
KAPETAN: A lot of the transportation theme ties literally to tour. But then also, it's the longing for the other side - like, the grass is always greener on the other side. And, like, it tests you. And it makes you think about all the other aspects of life if you're not touring, if you're just at home, and, like, this constant moving and mechanics of everything that, like, you almost can't stop. But you find happiness in whatever you can, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEVEN DEGREES")
FRIKO: (Singing) One was something. Two was more. God, I can't count it any longer.
RASCOE: Niko Kapetan and Bailey Minzenberger of the band Friko. Their new album is called "Something Worth Waiting for."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEVEN DEGREES")
FRIKO: (Singing) Seven degrees. Just one more for... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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