The Hoy Polloy - Ferret Winter

The Hoy Polloy

Ferret Winter
self-released; 2015

3.4 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

The band The Hoy Polloy comprised of K Sos (vocals, bass, saxophone, keys,) Panther (drums, harmonica, guitar, backing vocals), Francisco Padilla (keys, bass) and Juan Lameiro (guitar, percussion, backing vocals) sing in different languages and attempt completely different genres on their recent release Ferret Winter. The four-piece doesn’t blend genres but tends to attempt a different one for each song.

They open up with a song entitled “Centerfold” which is rooted in Queens of the Stone Age type rock. The song is straight forward revolving around a couple of distorted guitars, driving drums and a steady bass. It’s a catchy song but not right off the bat. They sing about lust and hedonistic intentions that shows no regard of the ramifications. He sings, “ You caught me staring at your chick Why can't we all get a centerfold and she's licking her lips and I'm going to take her home You son of a bitch.”

You wouldn't recognize the next song “Same Time” as the same band if it weren’t on the album. The song features rapping on the verse that feels loose, fun and comical. When the chorus hits they ditch the rapping and go into an indie rock style chorus. 

“Houdini” is yet another deviation that revolves around auto tune effect style vocals, piano and I swear I heard a kazoo in there. The next track is the eight-plus minute centerpiece that adds further confusion as to how they are going to unify their sound. I was impressed by some of the music, which has a worldly and electronic feel. The song was sung in Spanish that only added to the feeling of every track being a disparate piece. 

The highlight was “Hoffman” which contained the best vocal melodies on the album. Sos sings about the ubiquitous topic of lingering feelings one feels after a relationship has ended. He sings. “And what you left behind Is carrying on But they'll do it without you You said one last time.” 

Unfortunately, The Hoy Polloy never finds a way to unify the styles they trying to pull off on their album Ferret Winter. The juxtaposition that is present more often than not is indicative of a band that is too ambitious. On top of that it makes it difficult to build a consistent fan base when this type of variety is apparent. The flip side to this is that a number of the songs work very well. If the band can figure out how to meld these disparate styles into something uniquely their own then I predict more fans will ensue. 

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