With an undeniable rock riff that nests inside your brain, “Leaving While You Stay” from Greg Hoy and the Boys is a ruckus of a tune. Berating the drums and punkish vocals don’t seem enough to contain this bombastic song, as the unleashing rock and roll vibes swarms every second. Tendered with political overtones, “Leaving While You Stay” is one electable track to add to your summer playlist.
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Hoy, no newbie to the music scene, is currently based in San Francisco, Calif. Over the course of 30 years, the rocker has released over 30 albums under such names as The Royal Panics and Twice As Bright. In the band’s press materials, they note that “Leaving While You Stay” plays out the idea that they observed people checking out, but staying put. The song’s ripping guitars, with fierce bass guitar lines is coupled with the great drum work and spot-on vocals. This song is an immediate force to be reckoned with.
Hoy sings with gust on the words I think you might be leaving, you know you’ve got that feeling, I think you might be leaving, you know you’ve got that feeling, and sounds like a young Ozzy Osbourne. I know he’s not British, but Hoy’s vocals just have this rusty, Birmingham-blue collar tone. You’re leaving while you stay, he repeats twice, with an echo feature further blasting out the words. Underneath the words, the pace is quick, the zip-in-and-zip out riffs almost have the drums keeping up, rather than the other way around. It’s high fi energy and the bluesy guitar notes are just as thrilling when the throbbing bass guitar shakes it tailfeathers. At the song’s bridge, they slow down their method just a tad, only to kick back up again moments later. I liked the way they varied the momentum, bringing it down into the valley before catapulting it up the mountain at the perfect time. The sound is a blend of the Franz Ferdinand fervor meets The Hives hijinks, only Hoy and the Boys keep it deliciously raw and their own making. Knowing full well that music wasn’t made to put in boxes, or confined to a particular genre, “Leaving While You Stay” gives the proverbial middle-finger to conformity and lets the listener let loose for a while. I marinated in this song for hours, only to find out that it was the guitar riff, that blizzard of frets, encapsulated the entire sonic experience.
I’m perfectly content knowing that this song has some repeated lyrics, and just banishing myself into the roaring electric guitar, bolstered by the back beat is to my liking. If you’re looking for a deep, prose-like song, “Leaving While You Stay” doesn’t put you in that mindset. They say so much by saying little – it’s up to the listener to interpret, and maybe that’s the whole point of the track. It’s the song that keeps throwing heat long after the embers have tired. Songs like this is why rock and roll will never die.
Jamie Morse