GROUP SESSION: FRIKO

GROUP SESSION WITH FRIKO

LIVE AT CAFE MUSTACHE

FEATURING LESLIE TANNER

Fans know Friko (the trio made up of Bailey Minzenberger, Luke Stamos, and frontman Niko Kapetan) as one of the most exciting rising bands in the Chicago scene. The music, which freelancer Britt Julious described as “perfect slices of indie-pop” in the Chicago Tribune last January, has grown more complex, layered, and dynamic in the bands’ brief, but already impressive, time together. Their music is comfortable holding onto multiple extremes at once. Take, for instance, the band’s demo album Burnout Beautiful, in which Kapetan effortlessly explores the possibility and risks of a life given over to music, interrogating what a life well-lived means to him. The demo’s 12 tracks were written and recorded in the basement of his childhood home. The story grounds the universal in the intimate, shrouding the “high-stakes” in coziness. In more recent releases, the duality rings out in their lush compositions that evoke rock and folk icons such as Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. Their performances similarly balance high drama and familiarity. As Friko plays out sweeping melodies, held up by thrashing guitar and punchy beats, it feels as if Kapetan sings to you and only you. Crooning about stories you know, memories you had but have somehow forgotten. In these moments, when the people behind the meticulously arranged details of sound break through, one can see into the lives that sculpted each player and await, eager to see what will come next for the band.