New Music The Chicago indie rockers’ sophomore album is an ambitious triumph Friko. (Adam-Powell) “Don’t make me guess if that’s a cry or a laugh.” This is an early frontrunner for my favorite opening line of an album in 2026. It also seems to summarize how Chicago’s Friko is feeling on their sophomore album, Something Worth Waiting For . Coming off their acclaimed 2024 debut with two additional band members (Korgan Robb on guitar, David Fuller on bass), vocalist and guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger are giddily evolving without exactly knowing where they’ll end up. As such, the songs here are equally cathartic and stressful, frequently in the same song, occasionally in the same exact moment. This tension brings out the best in Friko, as these nine songs represent some of the most thrillingly bold and expansive indie rock of the year so far.…