Happy Birthday

Finn Wolfhards love of the indie rock of the 1990s is well documented to anyone who has heard his bands Calpurnia or the Aubreys, both of whom are very much indebted to that much-referenced decade. On his solo debut, Happy Birthday, Wolfhard leans hard into lo-fi recording techniques while running through a set of songs influenced by crunchy power pop, staticky late-night bouts of introspection, the Beatles filtered through Guided by Voices, the hushed strumming of Elliott Smith, and the singers own unique set of anxieties. Co-produced by Kai Slater of the band Sharp Pins, the record is loose without being ramshackle as it rambles along thorough a dynamic set of tracks that can be incredible hooky (the power pop gem "Choose the Latter"), painfully intimate ("Everytown Theres a Darling"), jumped-up and excitable ("Eat"), or acoustic and blue ("Wait"). Apart from "Choose the Latter," which would be the hit single if music like this were still hits -- the best tunes on the album are those where all these elements combine into tightly wrapped, relatively focused songs that hit the same sweet spot between real emotion and bemused detachment that the best indie rock does. "Objection!" fits that bill perfectly as it lopes along merrily while Wolfhard spills his guts and the guitars jingle-jangle right on the edge of distortion. The production on this song is pretty deluxe for a lo-fi recording, and both Wolfhard and Slater deserve high marks for their work here and throughout. "Crown" is another winner. It tilts the scales toward a grungier sound, with feedback, distortion, and fuzz punctuating the yearning vocals. Loads of bands went for this kind of slacker sound in the 90s -- and beyond -- but few have nailed it quite as nicely as Wolfhard does here. The only thing holding Happy Birthday back from being classic is its brevity and maybe lack of ambition; other than that, the quality of the songs, the impact of the vocals, the excellent production, and his ability to reference the past without aping it combine to make it a superb start for a promising solo career. ~ Tim Sendra