Where We'Ve Been, Where We Go From Here (Expanded Edition)＜限定盤/Gold Nugget Vinyl＞

A project launched in Chicago in 2019, Frikos profile rose steadily through bookings at famed local venues, festival appearances including Bonnaroo, prominent playlisting, and favorable press coverage on the strength of their early short-form releases. The bands debut album, Where weve been, Where we go from here, manages to live up to the hype thanks to consistently vulnerable, impassioned material that oscillates between desperate ballads and cathartic rockers with memorable choruses. This effect is maximized by the high-strung delivery of bandleader Niko Kapetan, who effortlessly navigates the albums high-contrast sequencing. Where weve been, Where we go from here was produced by Friko (the duo of Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger) and Scott Tallarida and recorded mostly live in the studio -- and sounds like it. One of the more striking aforementioned contrasts occurs with the midway pairing of "For Ella" and "Chemical," in which "For Ella" is a ghostly, half-whispered, strings-accompanied piano ballad with a classical-romantic vibe and dramatic musical twists (sudden crescendos, close-harmony backing vocals, atmospheric noise) that, collectively, could pass for a timeless movie theme. "Chemical" is a howling, squealing discharge of a song that nonetheless remains highly harmonic. It, in turn, is followed by the reflective, midtempo "Statues," one of the albums melancholic earworms. Elsewhere, "Get Numb to It!" is a late-arriving outright banger with headbanging drums, a soaring singalong chorus, and lyrics that include "do do, do do do" as well as an anthemic "No, it never gets better/It just gets twice as bad…So you better get numb to it/Get numb to it." The rest of WWBWWGFH is just as nihilistic, a potentially appealing trait given the global tenor of its time. ~ Marcy Donelson

シカゴ出身のインディー・ロックバンド、Frikoのデビュー作。既に早耳リスナーの間で話題の彼ら。USオルタナ～インディーの系譜を継ぐメロディと荒削りなギターの轟音が作りだす奇跡の1枚。詩的なのにガレージロックのような衝動を持つ本作は、聴く者の心を打つ圧倒的なパワーを秘めています。プログレッシブでエッジの効いた楽曲陣と美しいバラードのバランスが絶妙なエモーショナルに展開していき、聴き終わった後の高揚感が込み上げます。音楽シーンに旋風を起こす超新人バンドが放つ、名盤となる予感を感じられずにはいられない傑作。全インディーファン必聴の注目作です!
intoxicate (C)石田真生

シカゴのオルタナ・ロック・デュオによるデビュー作。グランジ風のノイジーなギター・サウンドから枯れた味わいのアメリカーナ、チェンバー・ポップなどを併せ持った彼らの音楽性は、生々しく初期衝動に溢れている。例えるなら感情的なヨ・ラ・テンゴ。ビョークやビッグ・シーフを手掛けたエンジニア、ヘバ・カドリーによるアナログ感溢れるサウンドも最高にいい。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二