Finn Wolfhard, “Happy Birthday.”

While best known for his roles as Mike Wheeler in “Stranger Things,” Richie Tozier in Andy Muschetti’s “IT” films and Trevor Spengler in the “Ghostbusters” sequels, Canadian actor Finn Wolfhard is no stranger to music.

He formed his first band, rock outlet Calpurnia, in 2017 with his childhood friends. Their 2018 EP, Scout, was produced by Cadien Lake James of Twin Peaks, one of their influences. Wolfhard and Calpurnia’s Malcolm Craig would go on to form The Aubreys, releasing demos and EP Soda & Pie in 2020, followed by an LP, Karaoke Alone in 2022.

Now, it is Wolfhard’s time to shine on his own.

His solo debut, Happy Birthday, is a departure from all his previous music, its production heavier and featuring less light, catchy garage rock. Influenced by the Beatles, the Who, Nirvana, Canadian punk band PUP and the aforementioned Twin Peaks, Wolfhard drew upon themes of identity, nostalgia and loneliness for these nine tracks. He’s the album’s sole credited writer. Besides vocals and acoustic guitar, he contributed on drums/percussion and piano, and also co-produced with James, Kai Slater and Andrew Humphrey.

The album kicks off with the title track, a slow groove that announces Wolfhard’s deviation from previous work. As with several other tracks, “Happy Birthday” features fuzzed-out lead vocals. At first listen, it sounds like the microphone was maxed during recording, versus a compression style. If this was a pop album, this would likely be more of an issue. Once you get past the initial auditory surprise, it’s clear that it was more a style choice.

Single “Choose the Latter” has the most mainstream appeal. It’s full of nostalgic callbacks to the 1980s with its vocal style, beat and guitar sound. Here, Wolfhard’s lyrics are the most catchy:  “If I don’t move and I can’t see/ I choose the latter, choose the latter/ If I can fall and I can’t breathe/ I chute the latter, chute the latter/ Why spend the night alone when we can lose tomorrow?”

The third track, “Eat,” hits like a blast to the eardrums. The reverberated vocals harken back to the ’80s, though the overall sound seems more punk than rock. The outro’s vocalizations are reminiscent of Wolfhard’s Calpurnia days. At under two minutes, “Eat” is a short burst of frenetic energy.

“Objection!” recalls mid-’90s melodies and chord progressions with vocals that seem more akin to the ’80s. Another track steeped in nostalgia, it’s a pleasant earworm: “I felt you on the first day of fall/ It’s so consuming and booming/ Of your voice is just for me/ I don’t have a type/ I don’t have a style/ I know I do, but it’s just a test/ So I object and all the rest.”

While Happy Birthday’s first four cuts are primarily rocking, “Everytown There’s a Darling” has a mellow, 2000s lo-fi rock vibe, a la The Shins. Heavy with acoustic guitar and sparse accompaniment until near the end, it’s here that Wolfhard comes into his own.

Continuing with a similar sound, single “Trailers after Dark” is a moody ballad with a heavy fuzz-toned guitar solo that doesn’t distract from the overall vibe. Expressing themes of loneliness, nostalgia and self-discovery, it’s Wolfhard at his most mature: “Runnin’ with my coat hanging off/ Dry, cold sweetness, too hard to talk/ Oh my darling, don’t stop loving me/ You’re the one I see/ Even with the lights out/ Trailers after dark/ Rain to be trusted.” A genre-bender, this song would be just as at home in the 1990s and 2000s, while holding its own against today’s releases.

“Crown” is the album’s longest cut, at nearly five minutes. It leans fully into its alt-rock vibes and fuzzed-out production. “You” is another nostalgic ballad. Wolfhard’s vocals seem to channel a cross between John Lennon and Harry Nilsson. The accompanying strings firmly root it in the mellow sounds of the 1970s.

The album concludes with “Wait,” boasting an proggy acoustic rock rhythm. Wolfhard’s vocals are reminiscent of Beck on the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack mixed with The Hollies’ Allan Clarke on 1971’s Distant Light. It’s a mellow, pleasant groove that ends Happy Birthday on a solid note.

With fame’s demands and pressures, it’s refreshing to see a former child star mature and evolve without succumbing to destructive behavior. While the music industry is no picnic to navigate—label and tour demands led to Calpurnia’s dissolution in 2019—Wolfhard appears to have grasped his own style and direction. He seems at home as an independent musician.