Weird Nightmare

The solo vehicle of Metz frontman Alex Edkins, Toronto's Weird Nightmare makes jagged, electrifying garage punk with a strong dose of power pop melodicism. The project made its debut with an eponymous full-length released by Sub Pop in 2022.

As the singer and guitarist for acclaimed noise rock heroes Metz, Edkins has been a mainstay of Canadian punk music since the early 2010s. After moving from Ottawa to Toronto, Metz joined the Sub Pop roster in 2012 and developed an international following for their angular, hard-hitting noise punk. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Edkins began recording a group of solo songs that combined the muscular sonic attack of his primary band with sugary hooks more akin to power pop and the more melodic aspects of '90s-inspired indie rock. Using a combination of newly written material and older songs that didn't fit the Metz mold, he completed a full-length under the name Weird Nightmare, which his longtime label issued in May 2022. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi