The Toronto musician Alex Edkins always has something going on. Up until recently, Edkins was the frontman of the great Toronto noise-rock power trio METZ. Last year, METZ reunited to perform on John Mulaney's Netflix show even though they'd only just broken up. Edkins is also one half of the duo Noble Rot with Holy Fuck's Graham Walsh. Last year, they played their first live shows, released the very cool single "Hang On," and soundtracked the second season of the podcast The Outlaw Ocean. On top of all that, Edkins makes his own music under the name Weird Nightmare.
As Weird Nightmare, Alex Edkins makes nervy, anthemic, emotional power-pop. His self-titled debut came out in 2023, and he followed it up by dropping covers of the Troggs and the Ramones. Last year, Edkins released a new Weird Nightmare single called "Forever Elsewhere." That song will soon appear on Weird Nightmare's sophomore LP Hoopla. Edkins recorded the album in Toronto, and he co-produced it with Spoon's Jim Eno, a combination that makes total sense. Today, Edkins shares the extremely catchy new single "Might See You There," a melodic scrawl with big riffs, tingly little xylophone notes, and sweet vocal harmonies on the hook. Here's what he says about it:
"Might See You There" is about going back to visit my hometown and being flooded with teenage nostalgia. Small-town boredom and isolation almost feel like a gift in today's highly connected world. I feel fortunate for that time spent idly, down in the basement, learning the entire Rancid Let's Go album on guitar with my friends. I find it easy to romanticize that time in my life, even though I was, without question, a disgruntled kid who badly wanted to escape my surroundings and see the world.
I was listening to a lot of the Irish bands the Undertones and Protex while writing this one, and I think there is a fair bit of their influence. Just the simplicity and big bar chords mostly. Seth Manchester and I were very into the idea of adding piano and bells to the outro, akin to the Phil Spector-produced End Of The Century album by The Ramones. The great Julianna Riolino sings with me on the choruses, too!
Below, check out director CC Mulligan's abstract animated "Might See You There," video, as well as the Hoopla tracklist and Weird Nightmare's upcoming tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Headful Of Rain"
02 "Might See You There"
03 "Baby Don’t"
04 "Forever Elsewhere"
05 "Never In Style"
06 "Pay No Mind"
07 "If You Should Turn Away"
08 "Little Strange"
09 "Bright City Lights" (feat. Julianna Riolino)
10 "Where I Belong"
TOUR DATES:
4/24 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
4/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers ^
4/26 - Oakland, CA @ Thee Stork Club ^
4/28 - Portland, OR @ Soundscape NW Festival *
4/29 - Seattle, WA @ Baba Yaga
5/01 - Toronto, ON @ Sonic Boom
5/03 - Brantford, ON @ zBTFD
5/12 - Kingston, ON - Broom Factory
5/13 - Montreal, PQ - Bar le Ritz
5/16 - Halifax, NS - Marquee Ballroom #
6/17 - London, ON - London Music Hall #
6/18 - Hamilton, ON - Bridgeworks #
6/19 - Toronto, ON @ Masonic Temple #
6/20 - Ottawa, ON @ The Bronson #
6/24 - Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall
6/25 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
6/26 - Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s
6/27 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
6/28 - Medford, MA @ Deep Cuts
8/28 - Malaga, Spain @ Canela Party Festival
9/02 - Glasgow, UK @ Hug & Pint
9/03 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
9/05 - London, UK @ The Lexington
9/06 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Rotown
9/08 - Berlin, Germany @ Urban Spree
9/09 - Cologne, Germany @ Bumann
9/10 - Paris, France @ Point Ephemere
9/11 - Lille, France @ Aeronef
9/13 - Asten, Netherlands @ Misty Fields Festival
* with Bully
^ with Mrs. Magician
# with Wintersleep
Hoopla is out 5/1 on Sup Pop, or Dine Alone in Canada.
