Finn Wolfhard: New Beginnings

      “I feel incredibly fortunate to be in my current position, but that doesn’t equate to happiness or true comfort with who I am.” Conceived from his personal goal to write 50 songs in 2022, this album captures a young man sorting through his thoughts in real time, delving into a form of creative expression that goes beyond what has provided him some protective armor up to this point. “Initially, I wanted to release this album under a different band name,” he explains, “but after speaking with various people, I realized it was an attempt to create distance between myself and the music; releasing under the name Finn Wolfhard carries a vulnerability that was new to me, and I felt anxious about it. In a band, the responsibility isn’t solely on you, but with a solo album...” he pauses. “It seemed like there was perhaps more pressure.”

      This is a stark contrast to his acting career, where scripts, costumes, and sets enable him to easily step into the roles of others. Given that acting requires one to merge their identity with a character, does he sometimes struggle to distinguish where Finn ends and the character begins? “Actually, I haven't considered it in that way before,” he reflects, “but I’m sure that happens subconsciously quite often. Especially since I began acting at such a young age—typically, at 12 or 13, you go through more universal developmental stages, and I was acting instead, experiencing changes in a different manner.”

      “It’s interesting; I feel like acting provides a means of expression that you might not find in everyday life, and it serves as a type of therapy. Yet, at the same time, it might also be a way of delaying or masking something that needs attention... I believe it can sometimes complicate things,” he concludes. “I’m quite an anxious person, and I tend to ask a lot of questions. I’d say this album is a prime representation of me expressing: 'these are the questions I’m pondering, and the thoughts I wrestle with at night while staring at the ceiling.' That, for me, is the essence of what the album encapsulates.”

      The second single from ‘Happy Birthday’ and one of its standout tracks, ‘Trailers After Dark,’ exemplifies this sentiment. Drawing inspiration from the continuous parade of movie trailers Finn immersed himself in as a child—particularly those for Cloverfield, Spider-Man 3, and The Master—it evokes a bittersweet nostalgia, reminiscent of childhood comforts akin to a modern-day Proustian moment. “It’s amusing because I’ve spoken to people who consider ‘Trailers After Dark’ a ‘love song’ or something similar,” he says with a slight grimace. “In truth, I wrote it from the perspective of a mother who was once very close to her child, sharing those trailer experiences, and then suddenly their son or daughter leaves...”.

      We suggest this evokes a feeling similar to ABBA’s poignant ballad ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’—not the kind of group one might expect to have influenced an album devoid of pop gloss, yet Finn confirms with a smile that he “definitely listened to them a lot while creating this album.” Despite the odd nature of the comparison, he’s pleased to be associated with the Swedish legends; though vastly different, they both acknowledge that growing up involves loss.

      “Of course, not everyone experiences this the same way, but when you’re young—depending on your situation—your mom often is the closest person in your life,” he notes. “And when you become an adult and move out for the first time, that relationship shifts entirely; you must create your own life. My mom and I remain very close, but the nature of our relationship has changed [since then]. When you first move out, you’re altering a significant aspect of your relationship…” he shrugs, offering a small smile. “That was just an idea that really weighed on my mind.”