Weird Nightmare – Hoopla

Weird Nightmare’s self-produced, and decidedly lo-fi, self-titled debut was recorded at home during the pandemic and released by Sub Pop in 2022. Weird Nightmare displayed Edkins’s indie rock sensibility, with a penchant for undeniable hooks and massive sing-along choruses. His skills at writing and performing only tightened on a series of singles that followed. On the new studio album Hoopla_co-produced with Spoon’s Jim Eno and recorded at Seth Manchester’s Machines with Magnets_Edkins expands Weird Nightmare’s dimensions even further. Gilded onto the direct emotions of his straightforward songwriting, new musical textures such as piano, bells, and castanets give these well-wrought tunes a shiny luster. It’s like a beloved indie director leveling up to their first studio feature. Resplendent with sunny, guitar pop, Hoopla was produced with just the right amount of fuzz and crunch. The immediate, crisp, unfussy recording brings you right into the studio with Edkins and his rhythm section: Loel Campbell on drums and bassist Roddy Kuester. This is top-shelf power pop; these sharp jolts of adrenaline could slip into a radio rock block between The Replacements and Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Or fit just as easily on a college radio set alongside Sharp Pins, Ratboys, and Alvvays. At its heart, this album is an optimistic, shining light in our strange time. Through Weird Nightmare, Edkins wants you to know that he is still in love with the world, and he invites the listeners of Hoopla to feel the same.