New releases A-Hoy!

NYC's Greg Hoy has been a bit of a pop chameleon over the years, from his traditional power pop days in his band Hoy to the more modern rock and harder rock sensibilities found in his solo career. And now with a pair of new releases, Hoy continues genre-hopping.

First up is Spouses of the Lowly, a concept album of sorts about temptation and infidelity that itself boasts many different pop styles. For example, opener "Spouse of the Lowly" (and the album-ending bookend title track) is expert pop noir, "Souvenir" dabbles in electro-pop, and "Jesus' Son" mixes in some blues in support of a "Bo Diddley" backbeat. Elsewhere, "TV Dinner" almost comes off as an Americanized Fratellis and "Temptation Town" is gentle folk-rock. But the standout here is "Highway 101", a casual 70s SoCal sounding tune that splits the difference between Blues Image and "Rosalita"-era Springsteen. This is one disc where no two songs sound the same, and that's a good thing.

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Hoy's other new release Rock and Roll is a straight-up genre exercise, the genre being 50s/early 60s rock and rockbilly a la Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins and early Elvis, and it's a hoot. The title track is pure Holly, "I'm Epic Curious" swings, "(She Gonna) Firebomb the Track" is a first-class rave-up and you can almost hear a little early Dylan in "She's My Cocaine". A record that's fun to listen to, and that sounds like it was fun to make - what rock and roll is all about.

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