By: Music Journalism Club

Every week our Music Director, Allison, chooses new releases to add to our music library. Here are some of the recent highlights, presented to you by WSUM’s Music Journalism Club.

Friko, Something Worth Waiting For

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Still Around”, “Choo Choo”, “Hot Air Balloon”, “Something Worth Waiting For”

GENRE: Indie Rock, Chamber Pop, Power Pop, Indie Folk

RIYL: Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Hop Along

Comparing Something Worth Waiting For to the band’s debut, 2024’s Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here, all the key parts are there just turned up a notch. The slower songs are given more time to breathe, filling the listener with the hopeful melancholy that calls back to their city’s musical forefathers, in Wilco. The build-ups release into deeper deluges of sound, most notably on “Guess” and the title track “Something Worth Waiting For”. The choruses get more anthemic such as on the belt-out-loud-while-driving tracks “Still Around” and “Choo Choo”. This isn’t to say new elements aren’t introduced either, strings beds enrich the track “Certainty”, the same song that also marks the first time we hear drummer Bailey Minzenberger share vocals with Niko Kapeten, Friko’s lead vocalist. Likewise, crunchy synths slowly envelope the middle section of the sentimental “Dear Bicycle”. All in All, on Friko’s sophomore effort not much changes, it just gets better.

— Jack Schubring

Grace Ives, Girlfriend

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Now I’m”, “Avalanche”, “My Mans”

GENRE: Alt Pop, Indie Pop, Synth Pop

RIYL: Arlo Parks, Quiet Light

Girlfriend is Grace Ives’ innovative sophomore album. Girlfriend was a sort of personal come up story for Ives, who was struggling after the release of her previous album Janky Star. Ives has said that writing Girlfriend mostly by herself over a two year period helped her to grow and flourish, through seeking new experiences. This album helped Ives to ‘let go’, and you can really feel it through the music. It’s fun and full of light, while also being complex, refreshing, and beyond captivating. You’ll surely be entertained throughout this album. Each song entails something special, the entire album coming together to form a cohesive and beautiful bigger picture. We start out with the slow and graceful “Now I’m”, where Ives’ wispy vocals carry you to a dreamlike soundscape. Through the album, there are petty lyrics and a careless sense for all the right things in all the right ways, allowing Ives’ to stay true to herself. This album is layered so well: each song is fun and perfect to sing along to when listening on a surface level, and it also contains a multitude of meaningful themes that are uncovered throughout the more time you spend with this album. Overall this is a great listen, that will be sure to linger in your rotation!

— Julia Klima