Premiere: Greg Hoy collects digital obsession and desperation in ‘Messed Up World’

Death appears even more tragic this year. It’s always an insurmountable inevitability of life, and you can never be ready for it. But in 2020, 200,000 deaths that could have been prevented by a downright cruel and selfish administration are crushing. You know someone who knows someone who knows someone who’s died from COVID-19. It’s tragic and shows no signs of stopping.

Multi-instrumentalist and resident rocker Greg Hoy was thrust right into emotional upheaval when a dear writer and mentor died from the virus. Meanwhile, he anticipated the birth of his daughter. Such a twisted dichotomy is not lost on him. “The prospect of bringing life into this schizophrenic deathwatch mess considerably changed my creative mind,” he writes B-Sides & Badlands over email.

Hoy and his band, known as The Boys, were expected to mount a west coast tour this spring, and they laid plans to book studio time at Tiny Telephone in San Francsico, one of the most vital venues in the independent scene. But it’s time came to an unfortuante end. “After years of amazing records by a who’s who of indies (Spoon, Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney), the lease was up ⏤ another nail in the artistic coffins of 2020,” muses Hoy, who worked there since 2011. “We were gonna re-record old shit to release for the tour. I’d emailed John Vanderslice and my bestie engineer Jacob Winik to secure one last week. And, well, we all know what happened next.”

A global pandemic swept through the states, shuttering businesses and other iconic music venues down for the long haul. Many have closed permanantly, and still others are barely treading water. “As Frank Black once sang, ‘I get so down / I`ve got these turned up so loud.’ It’s the loudness of air moving on a stage I miss the most right now,” he adds.

When it comes to his new song “Messed Up World,” premiering today via its grainy, prescient visual starring Septymber and Anna Copa Cabanna, Hoy perfectly captures the collective unease, frustration, and loneliness. Vivavious images filter through cracked iPhone and iPad screens, punctuating desperation and a longing for human connection. It’s like suffocating on air. There’s no escape. “She was slow on the uptake, living high on herself / Taking risks near the Great lakes, satisfied with the wealth,” he sings over fuzzy, static guitars.

“Messed Up World” samples Hoy’s forthcoming record, Cacophony, which was recorded at Tiny Telephone Oakloand for maxium space for social distancing. “The days before the session found me writing nine new songs in a fevered flurry,” he notes of the creative strike, citing songs like the title cut and “Here Comes the Light” that poured out of his gut. All 11 songs were mixed in one day, and if the new entry is any indication, he’s hitting on hotter and more propulsive cylinders these days.

Part one of Cacophony drops everywhere this Friday (September 25).

Watch below:

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