Rock Made in Sottosopra: Finn Wolfhard’s solo debut

For everyone it is Mike Wheelerthe leader of the gang of teenagers protagonist of “Stranger Things“, The Netflix series that has become a real pop phenomenon in recent years, of which he will return to play the role at the end of the year for the fifth and last season (the episodes will be released on the platform between November 26 and December 31, the announcement arrived last Saturday during Tudum, the event-account of the streaming giant at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles). But few know that Finn Wolfhard, class, class. In addition to being one of the most launched actors of his generation, seen in blockbusters of these years such as “IT”, “Ghostbusters: Legacy”, “Ghostbusters – Icest threat” and “Saturday Night”, It is also a Rockstar born. That after the experiences in bands like Calpurnia and the Aubreys now puts his face on it, as they say, and publishes his first solo album: he is titled “Happy Birthday“, It will be released this Friday, and those who have already listened to it – starting from Kerrang!, The alternative rock bible – has defined it An unsettling and “intoxicating mix of alternatives ’90’ and solar power-pop”. The disc was “written during a year of inner reflection” and the songs that make it up were “recorded almost entirely on a four -track recorder in an attempt to keep the sound as raw as possible», Before being produced by Kai Slater, 20-year-old Chicago Nerd considered the new Mini-Guru of the US post-rock scene.

When the pixies played with the Calpurnia

That like Wannabe Rockstar Wolhard he had excellent cards to play had already been sensed at the time of the Calpurniathe teenage band composed between 2017 and 2019 together with Ayla Tesler-Mabe, Jack Anderson and Malcolm Craig, with whom he revised pieces like “Where is my mind” of Pixies“Age of Consistent” of the New Order, “Take On Me” by the A-Ha, “El Scorcho” and “Say It Ain’t So” of the Weezer. Then in 2020 he founded the Aubreys, together with which the following year he released the album “Karaoke Alone”. “Happy Birthday” is the first album in which her name appears on the cover: «I wanted him to play as authentic as possible and a friend said to me: “If you want people to perceive him as more authentic, hiding behind the name of a band perhaps will not make him so personal and it will be more difficult to get in tune with the project”». “Happy Birthday” is an intriguing project, which projects Wolhard in a role that nobody expects from him: that of the music nerd.

“I could do a hyper -proposed pop disc: I didn’t want to”

It was he himself in a long interview with Kerrang! to tell that he has always been quite fascinated by the technology and technology of production: «I was obsessed with looking at the beatles movies that played live, with all their equipment and everything else. It was something that fascinated me a lot. As a child, I fantasized to be in a band and to get on stage to play with people and people». But the songs of “Happy Birthday” are not exactly for people: Wolhard does not feel the need to satisfy other expectations if not his. “Signing for a major or affecting a pop disc is not something that interests me. I probably could have done it if I wanted, I could have made a super-produced pop disc. If I wanted to follow that road, I could have explored it, but I am more interested in doing things I like and that I find interesting»He explains, that throughout the month of June he will be on tour between the United States and Canada to present the album, and who knows that by the end of the year he does not arrive in Europe too.

The raw and angular sound

Kai Slater’s production is Without frills, raw, angular. It is deliberately like this: «When I listen to the music, if I can imagine the musician who records it I feel most connected to it. Imperfection and things like that make me feel much closer to the musician and music. Because I can imagine that small scene in which they are wrong a part of bass and think: “You know what? Let’s go on”. This makes everything even more human and understandable. These songs, for me, were fragmentary and fun. One of the reasons why I recorded on them is that I wanted them to play a little imperfect, and sometimes you have to accept the errors. Sometimes it is not possible to make the right punch-in, or you cannot overwhelm the sound, but they become an integral part of the song. Some of my favorite songs ever have strange imperfections and talked verses that I believe really contribute to the authenticity of the song».