With a fun musical composition and special vocal harmonies, Almost Classy’s debut single, “I’m That Man” confirms the band’s abilities.
After a few listens it’s easy to see that all the pieces are in play for a fantastic jam band. A full sound, a lead vocalist with a unique voice and an equally solid backup singer in Rob Cunliffe (Lead Guitar, Vocals) and Aaron Bernbach (Rhythm Guitar, Vocals), this band is Sister Hazel meets Phish. They’re friendly enough to get radio time, but niche enough to garner cult status.
The only track currently available to the masses, “I’m That Man” tells the tale of an ugly dude who takes a chance on love. Maybe. The words are at times hard to pick up, but most of the time, it’s a fun, folk/pop track with a Southern flair. It’s something that’ll grow on you over time. With multiple instruments jumping in and out of the track as well, it’s a treat for the ears that provides surprises the closer you listen.
It works in the band’s favor most of the time, but at other times, it feels as if there’s too much going on. The punk-infused “Hey” that pop out during a few moments in the song are too much. It works for the Lumineers, but not for everyone else. The song has simple lyrics, much like a John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane,” but the music that accompanies the vocal work is plenty full enough. No hand claps or extra bells and whistles are needed.
From the sound of it, Almost Classy is still discovering their sound. But what they have is intriguing and sometimes intoxicating. They’ll learn over time that with what they have in place, they don’t have to try so hard.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
With a fun musical composition and special vocal harmonies, Almost Classy’s debut single, “I’m That Man” confirms the band’s abilities.
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