Weird Nightmare, the strange nightmare Alex Edkins runs alongside Metz, is back with its second album, making no apologies for trading noise for hooks.
Edkins is the guitarist and vocalist in Metz, one of the most visceral Canadian noise-rock bands of the past decade. With Weird Nightmare, a project he launched in 2022, he stripped away the distortion to prove he can also write perfect three-minute songs. He co-produced Hoopla with Spoon’s Jim Eno, and you can hear it: the sound is cleaner and rounder, giving every melody room to breathe without losing its edge.
Hoopla is ten tracks that work like a handbook for guitar-driven power pop in 2026. No cryptic experiments. These are choruses that stick the first time, guitars that pull you in and a rhythm section that points straight to the dance floor. This is the album that confirms Edkins is not running away from Metz; he is expanding his map.
The album opens with a direct hit: “Head of Rain”. It comes in with a dry riff and a bassline that punches you in the gut. It is the ideal introduction. “Might See You There” raises the stakes with a vocal line that plays between urgency and melancholy, and by “Baby Don’t” it has you completely: a massive chorus, backing vocals that demand handclaps and a very Spoon-like rhythm section—dry, tight and made for dancing.
Halfway through comes “Pay No Mind”, with shades of Elvis Costello and guitars that start tearing at the edges again. Then comes the most vulnerable moment: “If You Should Turn Away”. It is a beautiful ballad whose opening chords immediately evoke the Ramones’ “Needles & Pins”, but Edkins resolves it with an intimacy entirely his own. There is no scream, only restraint, and it hurts more. Aaaaahhh!!!
The rest of the tracklist keeps the standard high without a dip. There are clear echoes of Buzzcocks and The Undertones in the speed and pop innocence, nods to Dinosaur Jr in the way melodic guitars are packed into a certain controlled disorder, and all the choral brightness of Teenage Fanclub in the endings. But Hoopla never sounds like a copy. It sounds like Alex Edkins finding his own language beyond the noise.
Ultimately, Hoopla is not chasing catharsis; it is chasing celebration. This is a record for singing, nodding your head and remembering why well-made power pop still feels so necessary.
And the good news is that we will get to test it live very soon. Weird Nightmare will appear at the next Canela Party, and they also have a confirmed slot this Friday in Torremolinos on the Jarl stage. If you want to hear what these songs sound like outside the studio, that is your chance.
The bad news: there are only ten tracks. When Hoopla ends, you want to hit repeat.