Finn Wolfhard Continues His Solo Musical Ventures with ‘Objection!’
Solo careers are always a big leap. They’re an even bigger risk when the large majority of your career has been steeped in ensemble roles, part of a crew rather than in the starring role. Finn Wolfhard has had chances leading the helm, but most headlines remind readers of his roles in Stranger Things and It. This emphasis on these group roles associates Wolfhard with his fellow cast members and his childhood stardom automatically, leaving him less time to present who he is now at age twenty-two. Even his feature film directorial debut, Hell of a Summer (2025), largely focused on his partnership with long-time collaborator and friend Billy Bryk.
But Wolfhard’s musical career is where he’s truly had the chance to shine. The first major name in Wolfhard’s musical career was Calpurnia, a group made up of himself at the front, musical prodigy Ayla Tesler-Mabe, bassist Jack Anderson, and drummer Malcolm Craig. This ragtag group of Canadian indie rockers connected thanks to a combination of rock camp and punk band PUP. Calpurnia officially formed in 2017, the name coming from To Kill a Mockingbird. Cadien Lake James of Twin Peaks produced and engineered many of Calpurnia’s songs, with the band signing to the same label as Twin Peaks, Royal Mountain Records. A cover of “I Wanted You” by Twin Peaks was a staple of Calpurnia’s live shows, along with “Where Is My Mind?” by the Pixies, “Say it Ain’t So” by Weezer, and “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles. The band’s debut and only EP was released in June 2018. Scout only features six tracks, though Calpurnia had other unreleased singles under their belt. Wolfhard’s stage presence, combined with a teenage rasp, gave Calpurnia an almost earthy sound to their tracks. While their music was clearly cleanly produced, the youth and restless energy of the band nevertheless gave their songs an edge.
Calpurnia performs at McMennamin’s Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR, 2019. Photo by Megan Lorich.
“Greyhound” was Calpurnia’s most popular track, but “Waves” is absolutely the highlight of Scout. Interestingly enough, “Waves” is the only released track in Calpurnia’s discography to feature a band member other than Wolfhard on lead vocals. Tesler-Mabe often featured as backing vocals for other songs, including the aforementioned “Greyhound,” but she absolutely shines in this song. Many will argue that Wolfhard became the face of the band because of his star reputation. There is truth to this argument, but Wolfhard also easily navigated interactions with the crowds that appeared at Calpurnia’s shows, making teenage audiences feel like they knew the band personally.
Calpurnia disbanded in 2019. The four members scattered to the winds, with Tesler-Mabe leading a funk band called Ludic for a short while. She has since collaborated with artists like WILLOW on her track “Come Home.” Wolfhard and Craig, who had long been attached at the hip, then created The Aubreys, named after Wolfhard’s cat. One of their earliest songs, “Getting Better (otherwise),” was featured on the soundtrack of The Turning, a horror movie featuring Wolfhard that absolutely bombed. Thankfully, The Aubreys continued with several singles, their first album Karaoke Alone (2021), and their last singles in 2023.
A solo musical career is not an unsurprising move by Wolfhard. Part of the reason Calpurnia broke up was due to scheduling conflicts from the actor, leading to less time to work in a corporate studio and tour. Wolfhard has also released solo covers online, such as a take on Mac DeMarco’s “Cooking Up Something Good.” There’s more flexibility when an artist gets to manage their own hours and create on their own timeline. With Wolfhard’s busy schedule, this solo career was definitely inevitable if he wanted to continue with music in some capacity.
In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Wolfhard revealed that he wrote about fifty songs in a year before whittling that number down to the tracks on his upcoming album Happy Birthday. Three songs off the album have been released so far, “Choose the latter,” “Trailers after dark,” and his most recent release “Objection!”. It’s clear that Wolfhard is still dedicated to music, despite this part of his artistry arguably sitting on the back burner due to other pursuits and commitments. Artists previously involved with Wolfhard have already made their way into his solo career, with Cadien Lake James credited as a producer on “Objection!”.
This newest single was released with a music video dedicated to Wolfhard’s late grandfather, a geologist who passed shortly after the video was completed. Set on a hauntingly snowy backdrop, Wolfhard wanders around snow covered plains with an acoustic guitar, a pair of binoculars, and a flare. Wolfhard calls for help, but is left out in the snow as darkness falls, a snowy dog staring down at him. The video also features stop motion designs animated by the snow itself, bright and clean despite how harsh “Objection!’s” setting is.
Both the instrumentation and lyricism of “Objection!” are reminiscent of earlier tracks in Wolfhard’s discography. His almost cracked voice moves up and down alongside a bassline that harkens to The Shins. “Objection!’s” narrator is confused, questioning their relationship with an unnamed person. Either way, there’s a bitterness to “Objection!’s” chorus, mentioning that “the happiness of it all, [is] set back by you,” in reference to this person. The snow circles in the song’s lyrics, just like in its video, and just like the rocky emotions the narrator no doubt feels. Imagery is something Wolfhard has excelled with, whether it’s through lyrics or in the various projects he’s directed.
“Objection!” is the latest point of the needle for Wolfhard, yet another indication of where Happy Birthday, and music, will fall in his career. Regardless of the success of Happy Birthday, it’s clear that music is still ultimately a huge part of Wolfhard’s identity. Hopefully Wolfhard will grace us with another fifty songs.
