Today, the Chicago indie rock band Friko announced their sophomore album, Someone Worth Waiting For. Their new record will be out April 24 via ATO Records, featuring production by the Grammy-winning John Congleton. It's also the first record to officially welcome Korgan Robb and David Fuller, who joined the core duo Niko Kapetan and Bailey Minzenberger on their debut tour in 2024, as full members of the band.

The lead single "Seven Degrees" is out now, along with a music video produced by Infinite Dog. Watch/listen to it below:

Friko's first single runs with a 70s-era ballad, complete with acoustic guitars, airy harmonies, and a big rock sound that crashes in at the end. Inspired by Kapetan's mis-remembering of the expression "six degrees of separation," he says, "Thereʼs a lightness to that song but really itʼs about connection, and trying to stay close to the people you care about," per a press release.

The band's first album, Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here came out in 2024, and it was recorded and produced by the band and Scott Tallarida in Chicago. This time around, Friko travelled to producer John Congleton's Los Angeles, CA studio. "On our first record we were much more involved in the technical aspect of everything," says Minzenberger, "but this time John made it clear that he wanted us to just come in and do our thing."

The resulting sound promises to pull together bits of noise rock, classical music, and 70s rock and roll for a record that addresses this period of growth in the young band's career. "If the general theme of the record is transit, then the title gets at the idea of always moving toward something you never quite seem to reach," says Kapetan. Minzenberger clarifies, “That might sound pessimistic, but maybe the reaching isnʼt necessarily the point. I think life is meant to bring new experiences so that your world is ever-expanding, and not about constantly striving to achieve one particular thing."

Friko will put on a hometown show at Metro in Chicago, IL to celebrate the release day of Someone Worth Waiting For. Tickets will be available for purchase this Friday, February 6, at 10 am CST (11 am ET).

Someone Worth Waiting For is out April 24. Pre-order here. Official tracklist:

1. Guess
2. Still Around
3. Choo Choo
4. Alice
5. Certainty
6. Hot Air Balloon
7. Seven Degrees
8. Something Worth Waiting For
9. Dear Bicycle

The Needle Drop may earn an affiliate commission via purchases on ticket links through this article.