Listening to – Cacophony 1, (aka Part I), – by Greg Hoy, is the freshest breath of air I have heard in 2020 by an indie rock artist, and the west coast/Bay Area singer-songwriter is no new comer on the scene but he was when it comes to me before hearing this remarkably good EP. You can slice that however you want, but if this were a bad thing, I would not have anything to say about it. I was pleasantly won over by Hoy immediately upon hear the songs and wanted more where it came from, so I also watched two promo clips and enjoyed even more songs.
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“Cacophony” kicks off these six songs with a fantastic first impression, if it is the first time you are hearing this charismatic musician who plays like any other working musician up until the pandemic when he went in and recorded the first part of this album. I could not help but rate this song with the three best of what there is to offer on the EP, as it carries the best lyrical wisdom in which I can fully relate to as they all have something substantial and compelling about them.
I am also fond of the two previously released singles “Messed Up World” and “Can You Take It?” as both come with promotional videos with the former delivering the more theatrical side and the ladder the more protest side out in Hoy and bandmates the freakishly-tight rhythm section of Ian Miller on bass and Jason Slota on drums. And there is more to the mix, but the three aforementioned songs take the lead as far as hits go, but the rest are placed in and out of them for a well-arranged combination of varied rock styles.
Other tracks get just as much respect from where I am standing, with a little less commercial appeal is all, and it makes for an overall balanced menu of choice selections. “Here Comes The Light” should be mentioned first because it is probably the most delicate track but also the most interesting as they get with most of the EP being upbeat and rocking. At the end of the day I find this to be another one of the best tracks on Cacophony 1. But it is a very-close call between the six tracks. “Move Along” is one of the coolest songs of the pack, with Hoy going into sleep mode for what is another hot moment in its own-right.
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The whole band get a compliment for shining on this creeper of a track, with Hoy once again doing the business up front. “Do Unto Others” takes things out the exact same way they came in on Cacophony 1, with Hoy sassing about the best topic on the record and leaving you wanting more and anticipating Part II of this saga. I tip my hat to Hoy as both a lyricist, singer, guitar and keyboard player, and he could not come with a better rhythm section.
Troy Johnston