Seven Layer Piano Cakes – Remy (2022)
The brainchild of US-based attorney and law professor Justin Hoyt, Seven Layer Piano Cakes (SLPC) is his reach out into the musical world. Inspired by various artists, the instrumentalist lies somewhere between contemporary pop, pop-rock and post-punk. Already having featured SLPC on The Other Side Reviews, I was ready to hear what else he had for me. Soothing, steady and flowing but with a hard-hitting psychedelic punch, SLPC punched me between the eyes with ‘Remy’. Join us as we review this latest addition to his discography.
Following the post-punk influenced single ‘Middlegame’ with tinges of The Cure (read our review here), ‘Remy’ is a fusion of dream-pop with some new wave sentiments. Influenced by The Beach Boys, The Strokes and The Cure, SLPC tosses you into a sonic swirl with hazy ambiences – as if you are working through a foggy forest with haunting wistfulness closing in. Mystic, ethereal and filled with tender synths, there is a spine-chilling quality to the track. Lost in a swirl of sound, you can feel yourself drift away on the psychedelic arrangement; however, it is the content that really pushes the depth of SLPC’s music.
Written about his relationship with his young son, ‘Remy’ explores the frustration, desolation, anxiety and sadness of being apart from the lad. Tender and sincere, there is an intimate sentimentality in the personal narrative diving into human fragility. The thing is, while there is a melancholic feel to the track, it is “cautiously optimistic” in the lush and rolling soundscape. Definitely hard-hitting in a subtle way, and something I could put on repeat.
For more from Seven Layer Piano Cakes check out his Instagram and Spotify.
