Freidrich$ – Wish
Who is Freidrich$? What is Freidrich$? Is it even possible to know Freidrich$? We’re not exactly sure either, but the enigmatic individual known as Freidrich$ (F) is hot off the release of their latest offering, Wish. Clad in smeared and streaked face paint, Freidrich$’s existence may seem like it lies somewhere between Slipknot, ICP, and/or Ghost, but the 10 tracks on Wish are actually a lot more grounded in heartfelt emotions, blending elements of trap, bedroom pop, and dreamy atmospherics to create something all his own.
“The Moviegoer” is our introduction to Freidrich$’s unique style. A crushing Red Hot Chili Peppers (!) sample forms the backbone of this song; Freidrich$ goes as far as to call them out by name mid-track, a fun and interesting way to reference where his sample came from. Moreover, we start to vibe on F’s vocal style – haunting, self-referential, and incredibly personal lyrics, delivered in a somber, youthful tone. He continues this hushed and longing delivery on song two, “Starz” where he waxes poetic on an extended sugar metaphor: “You’re the saccharine in my dream, you’re my sugar sugar, oh give me that sugar high” (pairs perfectly with, the Baby Bash interpolation “What It Takes (Suga Suga)” that appears later in the album). When Freidrich$ starts suggesting that they catch a carriage to mars, you know this dude is down for some serious lovin’.
“Embrace” is when we really start to see Freidrich$’s songcraft muscles start to flex – while the song starts out slow, syrupy, and ambient in a way that matches its predecessors, it becomes a thundering and sparkling blast of indie rock energy around the three minute mark. Impressive drumming slams into your eardrums while sparkling instrumentals hammer out synth-soaked leads, falling somewhere on a spectrum between shoegaze and the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 OST – make no mistake, spiky blue hedgehogs or not, this is assuredly a compliment. While there are more overtly single-coded songs across the album, we’re giving our favorite-moment nod to this crazy, adrenaline-inspiring ending. Freidrich$ almost specializes in these slow-start-fast-ending songs, including another album highlight, “Courage,” with it’s late-night-drive through neon lights vibe.
Before you start thinking this is a fake-out descent into shoegaze or some sort of xxxx-core music you haven’t heard of yet, Freidrich$ continues this wild, genre-shattering exploration across the entirety of Wish. “Passenger Princess” starts out with the emo-trap vibes of Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, but ends in an almost orchestral bloom. “Zodiacal Astrology” dips into EDM with a fantastic feature from Lillith. Even album closer “Perfect As Ü R” gets into the genre mashing, pairing club-ready EDM with surprisingly intimate bedroom-pop vibes. Freidrich$ fancies himself a sonic alchemist – and the multiple personalities unveiled through Wish are a perfect demonstration of that hypothesis.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna