Weird Nightmare releases »Hoopla«, the captivating and melodic second album from former METZ frontman Alex Edkins. » Hoopla«, mixes and combines these diverse influences in an entertaining and rousing way, showing his sophisticated musical flair. It is bursting with catchy hooks and catchy tunes. It was co-produced by Edkins and Jim Eno of Spoon. After the previously released single »Forever Elsewhere«, which Stereogum described as »... an undeniably rousing power-pop anthem«, an official video for the new song »Might See You There« is released. Every band that has what it takes has a member who once worked in a record store. In the case of METZ, the courageous noise-rock trio that released five albums on Sub Pop between 2012 and 2024, that was singer and guitarist Alex Edkins. While in college, Edkins sold indie rock and hardcore records in his hometown and became an avid student of rock 'n' roll, from the psychedelic 1960s to the DIY 1990s and beyond. »Hoopla«, the catchy, melodic second album from Edkins' solo project Weird Nightmare, mixes and combines these influences in an entertaining and engaging way, showcasing his sophisticated musical intelligence. »Hoopla« is bursting with hooks and catchy tunes and is exactly the cassette that is never taken out of the car radio, but is played again and again and accompanies the summer. »Hoopla« is new and nostalgic at the same time and will delight your ears. Self-produced and decidedly lo-fi, Weird Nightmare's debut album was recorded at home during the pandemic and released by Sub Pop in 2022. Weird Nightmare showcased Edkins' indie-rock sensibility with a penchant for signature hooks and rousing sing-along choruses. On the new studio album »Hoopla«, co-produced with Jim Eno of Spoon and recorded in Seth Manchester's Machines with Magnets, Edkins expands the dimensions of Weird Nightmare even further. New musical textures such as piano, bells and castanets merge with Edkins' straightforward songwriting, giving these pieces a shiny shimmer. It's like a popular indie director taking a step forward with his first studio film. If the debut album Weird Nightmare was an underground crowd pleaser, much like Richard Linklater's Slacker, then Hoopla is Edkins' Dazed and Confused. »Hoopla« shines with sunny guitar pop and was produced with just the right amount of fuzz and crunch. The immediate, no-frills recording puts you right in the studio with Edkins and his rhythm section: Loel Campbell on drums and bassist Roddy Kuester. This is power pop in a class of its own; these sharp adrenaline rushes could fit seamlessly into a radio-rock block between The Replacements and Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Or go just as well with Sharp Pins, Ratboys and Alvvays. At its core, this album is an optimistic, shining ray of hope in our strange times. With Weird Nightmare, Edkins wants you to know that he still loves the world, and he invites Hoopla's listeners to feel the same. Take this chance to grab a spark of the magic of pop in our worn-out old world. You deserve it.