Andy Evans ‘Miracle’ Review: Smoky Vocals, Cool Guitar Licks

October 10, 2015 Patrick Hickey Jr. Music 0

Full of soul and great storytelling, Andy Evans’ work on “Miracle” ends up carving its own niche of bluesy, tough guy with a heart rock.

With a voice that’ll remind you of a myriad of gritty balladeers from the ‘70s and the type of guitar riffs that’ll make Stevie Vaughn proud, as well as the types of stories that a mainstream pop fan can enjoy and it’s easy to say that Andy Evans’ “Miracle” is one of the best indie albums of 2015.

It all begins with his smoky, bar stool voice and his natural ability at telling real stories. From love to guns, he covers a wide range of topics and every song has moments where Evans shreds or flows on the guitar and a line or two that he sings that you’ll want to run on Facebook and post. It’s not fair to call this music country, even though many uneducated ears will do so. Similar to bands the likes of The Black Keys, Evans is able to incorporate, Jazz, Blues and Modern Rock into something that is unexplainable to the average ear, but to the more experienced one, it’s a blend of experience and talent. At times, he’s even got a bit of John Legend in his sound. Bottom line, it’s just well-crafted, honest music.

Songs like “Elemental” or “I Wish She Was Mine” are the types of songs you expect to hear on Lite Rock radio, but ones that are great for times of reflection. It’s here where Evans shows a soul to his voice that some of the other tracks lack. He’s a poet, but he’s blue collar enough to throw a curse in- he never makes you forget what he is, a regular guy that happens to have a certain set of skills.

Those skills vary, however, depending on the song. On the album’s title track, “Miracle,” Evans is a little catchier and even smoother. On “Shape of Love,” there’s a Cajun flavor to the track that’ll get you bobbin’ and weaving’. “Judas” is the darkest of tracks on the album, with eerie guitar riffs, but another awesome story that brings the listener in.

With a variety to his charisma, awesome guitar work and the type of lyrics and vocals that are smart and deep enough for lifelong music aficionados, but cool and charming enough to hook those who have never experienced such deep song before.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14321 Articles
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.

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