This is the sophomore effort from Toronto, Ontario, Canada singer/songwriter Weird Nightmare a.k.a. Alex Edkins. Known for being the frontman of METZ & Lids, he would also become 1/2 of the experimental rock duo Noble Rot prior to making his eponymous full-length debut under Sub Pop Records in 2023 to moderate reception. I did however appreciate the noisy indie rock direction Alex went for with it including the secondary influences of power pop & garage rock, so him returning 4 years later by dropping Hoopla was gonna be an interesting growth to witness.
“Headful of Rain” opens up with this alternative rock intro singing about wanting to write a love song without him ending up scrapping it whereas the 2nd single “Might See You There” gives off some power pop vibes portraying himself to be coming home from what I have to presume to be the road touring. “Baby Don’t” fuses elements of pop rock & alt-rock singing about this woman being everything he wanted out of her while the lead single “Forever Elsewhere” describes things to be darker by the night & love overcoming all soon.
Reaching the halfway point, “Never in Style” embraces a bit of a garage rock sound rebelliously singing about him never following what’s trendy just before the 3rd single “Pay No Mind” explains being so broke to the point where he can’t even pay attention to the time to begin the 2nd leg of the LP & assuring he’ll be done in the end. “If You Should Turn Away” however keeps it going forward with this gentle, summery aura realizing how it feels to love someone & fuck up his shot.
“Little Strange” winds down Hoopla’s last few moments taking some inspiration from The Beach Boys’ surf rock output during the early stages of their career particularly when the chorus hits & after “Bright City Lights” featuring Julianna Riolino finds the pair embracing the pop rock influences even further for this warm duet, the 4th & final single “Where I Belong” introspectively sings about wanting to be with his 2 children to send off the album.
Representing a huge leap forward in Weird Nightmare’s sonic palette & emotional vulnerability, Hoopla combines the aesthetics of 60s psychedelia & the 90s DIY movement to lean heavier on his power pop influences for a half hour statement regarding the love Alex Edkins still has for the world looking to shine a bright light of optimism in these dark times. The type of artistic development he displays here is what I love to hear & can definitely imagine it getting play over in the west coast this summer.
Score: 4/5
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