Every once in a while, you’ll hear something new that reminds you of a special time. The Levins: An Alternate Refrain EP is that. A collection of three-tracks that’ll take you back to a simpler time in tunes when music and lyrics mattered so much more.
Simply but beautifully produced, it’s a trio of tracks you’ll remember.
“Morning is the Mercy” has this Allman Brothers meets Joni Mitchell feel to it that can’’t be denied. The two-part vocal harmony between Ira Scott Levin and Julia Bordenaro Levin powers the track (and pretty much all the songs on this EP), but solid electric guitar work from Simon Scott adds the missing piece. This is a great track that’s poetically written and expertly produced. Every element of the track works seamlessly off the other.
It’s wild that the same thing happens in “Morning When,” but with piano and violin accompanying the Levins’ vocal work. Add in excellent lyrics- “Meet me where there is no shame,” and you have something that feels like it’s been borrowed from the B-side of an early Carpenters’ album. Special is definitely a word that can describe this track.
“Wellspring” has the freshest sound of all three, but it’s still rooted deeply in classic folk. Julia has this mystic Carol King-sounding voice that will absolutely steal your attention and her piano performance here is stellar. The combination of vocals with Ira is a wonderfu one and it’s absolutely at the forefront of this track, which may be the best of the three.
Powered by beautiful two-part vocal harmony and great guitar and piano work, The Levins’ EP gets it done. It’s that throwback sound that’ll make any 40-something smile and any fresh ear turn their head.
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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