Hopalong Cassidy is the indie rock music project of multi-instrumentalist Nick Van Houghton. Nick started the project in 2018, releasing a group of cover songs played on the ukulele and reimagined in a dreamy, mellow style. During the Covid lockdowns of 2020, Nick hunkered down and wrote a handful of songs that would become Hopalong Cassidy’s official debut release; The Back of My Hand - EP. 

 

Hopalong Cassidy draws influences from alt rock pillars like Death Cab for Cutie, The Strokes, and The Smiths, but filters them through a shoegaze lens to craft a unique brand of dream pop filled with catchy melodies, big hooks, and lyrics that are as honest and dire as they are hopeful.

 

As a writer, Nick naturally gravitates to the dark and moody, contemplative and introspective side of himself. But with the arrival of Covid lockdowns, the world was already in a dark place and he wanted to experiment with a brighter, catchier sound, one that would offer an antidote to the bleak times, as much for himself as for anyone else. The Back of My Hand - EP finds a nice balance between the bleak and the hopeful, the moody and the catchy, the dark and the light. 

 

Nick is currently forming a live band of talented musicians to bring the songs to life and will be planning shows once we can all safely experience live music together again. In the meantime, he is writing a new batch of songs that will become Hopalong Cassidy’s first full length album.