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.CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes | Listen/buy at Bandcamp
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.CD Baby | iTunes | eMusic | listen/buy at Bandcamp
