Just a year on from releasing his first album (and mere months after one sluggish, lowly journalist mistook Brian D’Addario for Finn Wolfhard, the Stranger Things star has released his second album. Artists must now contain multitudes. It’s not enough to be just an actor or singer. Ewan McGregor made a documentary about motorbikes. Financial obligation isn’t what it is, it’s a matter of diversifying what you offer to reach a wider audience while also scratching at your passions. Tim Heidecker is the best example of this. He’s managed to innovate on-screen and in the studio. Wolfhard is fast approaching such a style of work with his Fire from the Hip release a worthy and welcome follow-up to Happy Birthday. Light and enjoyable rock work which comes to us from a musician who can afford to explore the sound he wants without the consequence of success. Fire from the Hip is made with slacker rock thrills in mind, and it goes down a treat.
No pressure on Wolfhard to thrill or spill into the depths of slacker rock, and it means he can pursue whatever meaning or worry it is that forms these songs. Opener I’ll Let You Finish has a few throwaway lines which feel like the expected, pent-up feelings of slacker rock. Pair that with some groovy, lovely instrumental work and you’ve got a strong showing. Common Side Effects may sound a little similar to Wolfhard’s Choose the Latter but it works well enough as a soft commentary on the film industry, George Clooney references and progressive anger padding the song out with a real force. Lights Go Down is a short and sharp beauty detailing the tragedy of finding out the details of how it all comes together. It is whatever you make of it in this instance. Whatever it is you’ve found out there’ll be a new normal, and that’s what Fire from the Hip is filled with.
A few songs that could use some sharper lyrical sense, but the bulk of it is strong. Why Avatar 3 needs a mention is anyone’s guess, but it doesn’t deflate Lights Go Down wholly. Follow it up with some neat work on both Follow and Tunnels and you’ve got tremendous instrumental quality. Wolfhard has a knack for this slacker rock style and he’s innovating just a little. Enough to make a difference within the genre, that’s for certain. Fire from the Hip sticks to what its title promises. Wolfhard holds firm with fun and floaty slacker rock songs which are nothing but delightful. His lyrical intention isn’t always there but he rallies into some instrumentally wonderful places. Nice to Meet You Again is a delight and those little memories of inconsequential but liberating experiences is enough to carry the song through.
Those moments are clearly enough for Wolfhard and they, too, serve the audience well. It’s an exceptional process where the lighter charms get us on through. It’s the same for life too, isn’t it? The lighter charms of life rally us through the hardships we’re no doubt set to face. Drifting, easy-going instrumental work is a delight here and there’s something to the floaty feeling, the cold air Wolfhard notes on Good Morning, that makes it such a delightfully moving experience. It’s hard to pull back from that emotionally charged moment, one of the best on the album. Wolfhard has a stronger collection of songs here than he did on Happy Birthday. All he’s changed is what he needed to. There’s still a little, unfocused feeling to it but nothing that feels so far removed from what we’d have hoped for. Instrumentally tight work and slight lyrical improvements. Wolfhard marches on with some delightful slacker rock on Fire from the Hip.
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