Friedberg release their long awaited debut album ‘Hardcore Workout Queen’, stream here, alongside the new single ‘So Dope’. Friedberg also played their first UK headline show at London’s iconic 100 Club this week to celebrate the release of the album.
Bringing together their distinctive own-brand of alt-pop, Friedberg’s debut album ‘Hardcore Workout Queen’ broadens sonic palettes: psychedelia, dance punk and cowbell all joining the fray, often coupled with huge pop-leaning hooks. The results? An electric debut album that is undeniably Friedberg. In their frontwoman Anna Friedberg’s own words, it is: “like an endless road trip, with no destination.” The bands first record is filled with songs made for long drives with close pals, the sort of journeys where deep conversations become second nature and your innermost feelings are discussed over service station snacks and slightly-too-warm fizzy drinks. The kind of road trip you never want to end.
The album, featuring fan favourites; ‘Hello’, ‘My Best Friend’, ‘The Greatest’ and title track ‘Hardcore Workout Queen’, unlocks a further six unheard tracks, such as the breezy ‘Venice 142’ and synth driven ‘100 Times’, alongside the infectiously punky ‘Better Than We Are’ and transfixing album closer ‘Pull Me Off The Passing Line’.
Talking about the release of the album, Anna says “I suppose you could say this album is a journey through the inner workings of my past few years. It’s vast and minute, it’s everything and nothing. It’s about breaking in and breaking free, about slipping into someone else’s mind for a holiday from your own thoughts.”
The album writing and recording started whilst on a road trip through Joshua Tree and California,, alongside Daniel Brandt and Matthias Biermann, and paved the way for the future direction of Friedberg’s sound, via Dan Carey’s (Hot Chip, Fontaines D.C.) studio in South London, and then finally in Oli Bayston’s (the mastermind behind Boxed In) studio in Walthamstow.
New single ‘So Dope’ is a deceptively cheery track that sees Anna takedown “social media bullshit” and people pretending everything in their life is “so dope” online. “This song feels almost like the counterpoint to Hardcore Workout Queen—it might even be the POV of the Hardcore Workout Queen in our previous song. It’s almost as if these 2 songs on our album are having a conversation. It’s a look at the pressure to present a perfect self: draining, hollow, and ultimately a waste of time, the endless loop of social media showmanship. It makes me think—when all of that fades, what will actually remain? What is your legacy?”
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