Friktion - FRIKTION. EP Review
Skittish punk energy meets earnest observations in Friktion's debut EP.
There’s not much information online on the band Friktion, making them a bit an allusive entity. That’s somewhat punk in itself, no? A sure fire live hit, though, making their way through the Brighton music scene with their skittish, high energy music destined to hail in the sweatiest, stickiest of mosh pits. Hailing from the States, Sweden and the UK, the trio find themselves bringing a raucous, fun energy to the London scene. In a debut project that combines punk semantics with earnest observations.
"Walmart Song" opens with a distorted, mechanical beat, evoking the ticking of a clock, a reminder of the cycle of time we find ourselves trapped in within a place of consumerism. The vocals delivery adopted serves a purpose here; laced with irony and faux enthusiasm, masking the resignation and relentlessness of corporate culture. Alt country still mixed in with their punk antics in the track ‘Grocery Store Bob Dylan’, continues on the touched on theme of disillusionment of modern life through a lens that is both personal and observational, drawing inspiration from the folk icon Bob Dylan but placing him in the mundane, everyday setting of a grocery store. Through the lens of Bob Dylan, the song critiques the commodification of art and the ways in which youthful rebellion often fades into everyday compromise.
The closer ‘New Tattoo’ is an emotionally charged track that explores themes of self-expression, permanence, and personal transformation. A softly plucked guitar intro makes the track immediately distinctive from their previous songs presented. As the song progresses, it’s clear that this is them at their most explorative state. “Ink on my skin, but it’s never enough”. The song captures the tension between change and the desire for permanence in an ever-shifting world, with the help of Tamara Kramar on vocals in the chorus. A combination of intimacy and expansive is drawn here.
The ‘FRIKTION’ EP is a succinct project, culminating in 13 minutes, that leaves room for desire and a want to hear the trio expand on their solid sound. It’s good to leave people curious though. Adopting punk traditions to comment on the machine, Friktion clearly have a knack for what they’re aiming for, it’s only a matter of time that we begin to hear that sonic world of theirs expand.