Once upon a time, Finn Wolfhard was the Stranger Things kid with all the indie-world credibility. He was in PUP videos. He covered Mac DeMarco and then performed with Mac DeMarco. His band Calpurnia recorded an EP with Twin Peaks' Cadien Lake James. Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste interviewed him for this very website. But then Steve had to blow up with his Djo project and his role as Malkmus in Pavements, and now the streets need to now whether Finn can wolf hard enough to take his throne back. So you know what that means. It's solo-album time.
Later this year, Finn Wolfhard will release his solo debut Happy Birthday. The LP came out of a challenge that Wolfhard set for himself: He wanted to see if he could write 50 songs by the end of 2022. As Wolfhard's child-actor endeavors made him more and more famous, music became an important outlet. In a press release, he says, "Music for me has always been something that I can control. And while I'm really grateful for acting and for a long time, it really provided me that peace, it's just a different thing now that I'm an adult and that it's a career. I still enjoy it a lot, but when I am by myself and get to play guitar and write a song, it's a different kind of feeling I'm after."
Look, it's hard not to make fun of the idea of baby celebrities making indie rock. But here's something I wasn't expecting to say: "Choose The Latter," the lead single from Finn Wolfhard's solo debut Happy Birthday, goes pretty hard. It's a nicely fuzzy burst of lo-fi power-pop, and it reminds me of Dazy, which I consider to be a high compliment. Happy Birthday is out in June, and Wolfhard will play some solo shows on the West Coast around its release. Below, check out the "Choose The Latter" video, the Happy Birthday tracklist, and Wolfhard's tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Happy Birthday"
02 "Choose The Latter"
03 "Eat"
04 "Objection!"
05 "Everytown There’s A Darling"
06 "Trailers After Dark"
07 "Crown"
08 "You"
09 "Wait"
TOUR DATES:
6/05 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
6/06 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery Masonic Lodge
6/07 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
6/10 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
6/11 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
6/12 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Happy Birthday is out 6/6 on AWAL.
