‘Stranger Things‘ star celebrates lo-fi on succinct debut album

“Actors having a go at music” is a genre usually best avoided, but the young cast of Stranger Things have been quietly, unostentatiously bucking that trend in recent years. Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, is perhaps the most committed to his “other” career, having released records since the age of 15, first as a member of Calpurnia and then the Aubreys. Despite an at times lo-fi production (you can hear the studio kettle whistling on closing track Wait), Wolfhard’s solo debut – recorded with Lifeguard’s Kai Slater – feels like a step forward in terms of songwriting, the pay-off for a challenge he made himself to write 50 songs by the end of 2022.

Happy Birthday’s bracing succinctness (nine songs in 25 minutes) nods to Guided By Voices, while elsewhere there are echoes of Wavves, most notably on the sugar-rush of Eat. Best of all is the joyous power-pop of Choose the Latter. Not everything comes off, however: the heavier Crown is built on a pulverising riff yet ultimately comes across as a bit pedestrian.

Happy Birthday by Finn Wolfhard is released on Awal