Chicago's Friko announced their new album Something Worth Waiting For last month with the balladic lead single "Seven Degrees," which we enjoyed enough to name it one of the Best Songs Of The Week. Today Friko are back with "Choo Choo," a real rocker that's likely to strike a chord with those of us who rely on public transit on a regular basis.
"Choo Choo" has a playful, slightly frenetic feel that reminds me a lot of the more whimsical moments in Modest Mouse's early catalog; there are even a few tempo changes that indirectly tie into the train theme. Lyrically, frontman Niko Kapetan alludes to the suffocating feelings of being in a van stuck in interstate traffic, wishing he could just go back to taking the good ol' CTA instead. He explains in a press release:
I’ve always had a thing with the magic of trains, and when I was writing that song I started singing ‘choo choo’ and it made me laugh. It always feels good to play live, with all the slowdowns and speed-ups, but it’s also a very emotional homage to the band and how they feel like home to me.
There’s nothing light-hearted about trains. They have moved us for hundreds of years, and probably will for hundreds more. Heavy, chugging things that carry far more human weight than any of us could ever bear. Life reveals itself in a seat by the window, watching carousels go by.
Appropriately, Friko made the "Choo Choo" video with director Anastasiya "Stas" Slyvka across a few CTA stations and other Chicago landmarks. Check out the (train) track below.
Something Worth Waiting For is out 4/24 via ATO. Pre-order or pre-save it here.
