New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Here it is: the thumping heart of Cacophony, the newest album from the irrepressible power pop singer-songwriter Greg Hoy. It's the title track, the mission statement, the punchy summary of Hoy's main idea - and although he's always quick-witted and articulate, it's fair to say that he's never delivered his vision in a manner fiercer, or more fun, than he does on "Cacophony." The entire album is the chronicle of a lovable Everyman wrestling with information overload, the insatiable demands of social media, and the pitfalls of the news cycle (and if you can't relate to that, you must be inhabiting a different planet). It's on "Cacophony" where Hoy's narrator reaches the boiling point - where his beleaguered worldview coalesces into a single statement of purpose. He's done with the noise, through being pushed, and ready to reclaim his sense of self.
And if you've followed along with the prior singles from Cacophony - the frenetic "
Messed Up World" and "Can You Take It?" - you're likely to hear the latest single as the culmination of a tale Hoy began to tell months ago. It's a story that dovetails neatly with the period of isolation we've suffered and the era of media bombardment we're in. Hoy's characters are part of the greatest captive audience the world has ever known, and they've had all the passivity they can stand.
Hoy applies his observational wit to music that's propulsive, bracing, riff-heavy, and catchy in the way that only the best power pop can be. As forceful as his singing can be - and as peeved as the lyrics are - Greg Hoy is also remarkably tuneful. "Cacophony" is just his latest indelible melody, and he's outfitted his mix with backing vocals sweet enough for a '60s garage-rock classic.
Hoy has matched "Cacophony" with a lyric video, and it's a snug fit: this is a song that foregrounds its words and its argument, and the clip makes sure you don't miss a single incisive syllable. Hoy pokes fun at the news media, the inadequacy of home entertainment to the challenges of the moment, and the role of the rock star in a time of crisis. Along the way, he gets in his digs at
Say Anything (the movie) and inserts a cheeky reference to
James Bond completism, too. He's a child of mass culture - and that's exactly why he's the ideal man to deliver a trenchant critique.
