Multi-instrumentalist Steven Wolfe and powerhouse vocalist Myla Snow’s Soles of Passion is a band hard to lick down to a genre. And in the words of Martha Stewart, “That’s a good thing.†Although just four songs long, this spirited EP is chock full of different sounds, textures, vocal stylings and beats. While that may make it hard to connect to everyone, just like a bag of Skittles, there’s something here for everyone.
To call the empowerment track “Turn It Around†a country song is like saying Fleetwood Mac is a metal band. It’s got this Blondie meets Pretenders vibe with some REM instrumentation. While its hook isn’t as catchy as others, it shows off Snow’s versatility as a vocalist and serves the EP well. Wolfe’s solid guitar work ultimately saves the track from mediocrity, giving it a rough edge, one it needed.
The EP’s title track has much more of a traditional county essence to it. The fact that Snow can go from pop to country so easily is a testament to her adaptability. “It’s So You†returns back to more of a rock-country feel and is probably the catchiest track on the album as it meld’s Snow’s charming vocal styling’s with Wolfe’s stellar guitar work. “I’m Begging You Now†may have the deepest musical tapestry as well, with violin, guitar and vocal harmonization. It’s here where we see what this band is really made of.
With so much to grab on to, this EP may not be the band’s breakout performance, but it will be remembered a few years from now when they decide to pick one of these genres and develop their sound further. As it stands now, this all you can eat style they’ve incorporates works well, but it hasn’t produced a track that is worthy of being a breakout hit.
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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