Nine Songs: Finn Wolfhard

Whether flanked by actors and friends in his star-making turn in Stranger Things, or the other blockbusting acting projects he's shone in, or even since embarking on a musical career in 2017 with his first musical outing, Calpurnia, collaboration and kinship has been key to his artistic path.

Following the release of their debut, Scout, in 2018, Calpurnia decided to take a pause in 2019. Wolfhard quickly followed this up with his next outfit, The Aubreys, with Calpurnia’s drummer Malcolm Craig. Throughout his musical story, it's always been Wolfhard and co. That is, until now.

With his debut solo record Happy Birthday, Wolfhard is striking out on his own, and he's relishing the opportunity. A collection of lo-fi but brightly packaged songs that mines his love of the jingle jangle, it’s both a homage of his influences, and a perfect amalgamation of his musical career to date.

He tells me that he actually had this collection of songs pencilled in for another unnamed project, but after discussing the direction of his next musical steps with his network of kindred spirits, he knew he had to break the cycle of collaboration and face a solo path head-on.

“I realised that I was a little bit gun-shy about doing something under my own name, because that's the most vulnerable way," Wolfhard explains. "If you're hiding behind a band name, then it might not be you if people don't like your music, but I thought, screw it." He was doubly interested in this endeavour, with the songs exploring the nature of vulnerability, detailing his growth and maturation as Finn Wolfhard the human, not Finn Wolfhard the Hollywood actor.

With this came its own set of pressures. Where his previous collaborations came with equal shoulders to carry the burden, Happy Birthday naturally carried a heftier expectation. “When you're by yourself, I feel like it's easier to get a little more self-critical," he explains.

"But I was lucky, because I ended up recording the album with a bunch of incredible musicians. It wasn't like I did this completely on my own, I was surrounded by really great people when we recorded it.”

With a blitz sprint of press for Happy Birthday, Wolfhard’s focus is on music and its endless possibilities. The musical side of Wolfhard contains extensive knowledge of music past and present.

He's a student of his craft who has carried his parents' musical taste and blossomed with it, forging his own paths and avenues, entrenched in embracing the tangible, analogue natures of bands gone by.

The throughline of his Nine Songs selections forms cuts from stringently individual artists, who did exactly what they wanted to regardless of the commercial strategy, and teens who also swept to global fame.

Wolfhard’s musical puzzle pieces paint a picture of a passionate, enthusiastic fan, who is in love with the art of storytelling and artistry. And it’s his tale to finally be told.