On Friday, Finn Wolfhard releases his sophomore solo album Fire From the Hip, just a year after he made his debut on the lo-fi Happy Birthday. The Stranger Things-alum-turned indie rock stalwart has lived multiple lifetimes, which is incredible considering he’s still just 23. Jack Parked called him up to discuss the new album, experiencing the World Cup as a Canadian, and the importance of trying new things.
Hey Finn. How are you doing?
Good man! I’m pretty good.
I just want to start with the World Cup. Being Canadian, how is the general vibe at home now that you’ve sadly been eliminated from the competition?
It’s bittersweet, you know? But I’ve also never walked around Canada and see it feel more energetic and amazing. People were so excited about FIFA and it was a really cool thing for us to be able to go that far.
Did you get to go to any matches?
No, I wish! My friend got to go and I was so jealous, it’s such a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It was very cool to see it bring so many people together.
I think it’s the closest we’ve been to world peace in a long time.
Yeah. What’s your team?
I’m English, so we had a crazy game against Mexico overnight.
That was one of the craziest games I’ve ever seen, it was incredible!
Who are you backing to win the competition now?
You know, I think I’ll go for any underdog team. I think England are an incredible team and I would love for them to win, but I also think what Norway are doing right now is crazy. I’m excited to keep watching.
Norway winning would be wild. Stranger things have happened…but let’s get on to the music. New album Fire From the Hip is out this week, and on it there’s a lot of old-school influence. I also hear Twin Peaks, Alex G and – harmonically – The Lemon Twigs. What kind of emotions and feelings were you trying to channel on this record?
I think there’s a kind of melancholy, but at the same time also some optimism. My favourite music is the kind where it has a sense of humour, or a message that everyone can relate to. I think that was a huge part of writing the record.
What do you hope someone who doesn’t know your music – or only knows you from your acting – would get out of your music as a new listener?
I would love for people to feel energized. My favourite music is that which is versatile in a way where it makes someone feel something. The songs on the record kind of concentrate on that effect, and these songs are also very energetic and loud. I want to move people in some way, but also make them feel good and like they can get up and do something. There’s a song on the record called Good Morning that’s a lot more chill too, so really I’m trying to do something where not every song sounds the same.
How much did your approach differ this time round compared to your debut album (2025’s Happy Birthday)?
The first record was a lot less planned and it was recorded over a long period of time. It was a very solitary experience. I did work with a producer on Happy Birthday – Kai Slater of Sharp Pins and Lifeguards – who was amazing. It was a less bland sort of record, I was just recording whenever I could and then I would do some days in a studio. Whereas this time round it was two weeks of nonstop thinking about the album and how it would come together. In my head I would be thinking about the sequences all the time. It was a lot more of a deliberate and focussed album, but it still had a kind of spontaneity to it.
You’re 23 now, but it feels like you’ve already lived multiple lifetimes. You’ve done so much. Do you feel like you’ve now landed on your true calling being a solo artist, or are there different things you still want to explore?
I always want to explore whatever there is that I’m curious about, and I think you should always try what you’re interested in at least once in your life. And if you like that one thing, then keep doing it, keep trying it. Music is something that has never left and will continue to be the biggest passion in my life. But, you know, I’m 23 and I do need to experience other things as well. I do need to learn about something else in order to develop and be on a path that I’ll eventually be happy with. I’m happy with my trajectory musically, and even with acting.
It’s been a long time since we last spoke, in a hotel room in Amsterdam with your former band Calpurnia. I think we got you all in bed for a chat.
Oh, dude! I loved that, that was really fun.
That was eight years ago now, and in the years since a lot’s happened. You’ve also finished Stranger Things, which was a huge part of your life. Do you feel like, as the show progressed, it held you back as an artist or did it help shape the artist you are today?
It helped shape me for sure. Maybe there were times as a child when I thought it was holding me back, thinking I was supposed to be in school and stuff. But it wasn’t really holding me back; in fact, Stranger Things was my school. That was my responsibility alongside going to a real school and doing all these other things like music as an outlet. Calpurnia was something I did whenever I could. I also understand that I wouldn’t be talking to you right now if it weren’t for the acting. Now I’m at a point in my life where I don’t believe anything has held me back. If anything, everything is sort of married to each other in a lot of ways. And now it’s over, I have the chance to unmarry these things and make them more specific and mature.
You have a huge social media following. Do you feel any pressure to speak out against certain things or do you think it’s important to do so when you have a platform?
I think it’s always important to share things when you have a platform. It’s also very important to be able to talk about things that are going on which are bothering you, or things you feel need more attention. I feel like I used to be more active when it came to that kind of thing on social media, but lately I’ve just been focusing on the things I’m really passionate about. It’s always important to talk about such things, whether they be political or not. Fire From the Hip is out on 10 July.
