John DeFeo is a soulful R&B/hip hop artist based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and he’s got one of the hottest new singles I’ve heard in long while. Taken from his EP Champagne Heart (which just dropped in February, is marvelous, and I urge everyone who reads this to give it a listen), “Unwind” is so steamy it’ll leave you needing a cold shower. With a sensuous mellow dance groove that aims straight for the hips, the track is reminiscent of Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body,” only better and sexier. Jangly, funk-infused guitars seem to flirt with the erotic bass-driven hip hop beat, and quite honestly, who can blame them!
DeFeo’s seductive vocals leave little doubt about his romantic intentions as he tries to convince a woman to give him a try: “Live a little, don’t be stuck up and beautiful. You got too many Instagram followers. I’ll give you the attention you need. We should leave soon.” I can’t get enough of this song, and the video’s awesome too!
I’m a huge fan of Australian-born, and now Los Angeles-based, singer/songwriter Wons Phreely. The talented, hard-working musician has an interesting and unique voice to match his artistic moniker (his birth name is Justin Wonsley). He grew up in Perth, one of the world’s most isolated large cities, where he also felt isolated with regard to his desire to become a successful musician. So, in 2015 he relocated to Los Angeles and quickly immersed himself into the creative artistic environment where he could more fully grow as an artist.
In 2016, with assistance from his backup band The Horses, he released an excellent single “Stars” (which I reviewed) that addressed his experiences overcoming self-doubt and fear of change, and enabling himself to make the life-altering move from Australia to Los Angeles. In November 2017, he followed up with a sparkling new single “The Night Has An Alibi,” inspired this time by his feelings of being out of place in Perth, and subsequently landing in the accepting artistic community of L.A. The hopeful lyrics speak to embracing all the surprises life has to offer, not letting fear keep you from living life to its fullest:
Daylight creeps in like a kick in the guts and the rush of blood Check your look in the mirror, are you young enough Cause it took you so long to get up dancing alone, while all the lights were down In or you’re out, boy don’t wait around Sister I know we should settle but I cant live a lie Too long running, true blood pumping Man I just get this feeling like I might explode inside Because the night, the night, the night, the night The night, the night, has an Alibi
The exuberant track opens with throbbing synths overlying a thumping beat, seemingly channeling “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen, whose music has strongly influenced Phreely. His fervent vocals quickly enter the scene, backed by joyous riffs of jangly chiming guitars that are freaking awesome! A warm saxophone is introduced in the bridge, melding beautifully with the bouncy synths and ramping up the track’s already high energy. The lush wall of sound on the track reminds me of two of my favorite bands – The War on Drugs and Future Islands. Not wanting the song to end, I kept hitting replay.
Phreely has now released a rather creepy but brilliant video for the song. His inspiration came from the webzine NYLON.com when they premiered the single, where they stated it “belongs on the ‘Stranger Things’ soundtrack.” The idea of ‘strange things’ struck a chord and led him to conceive of the very unusual visual for the song’s video. He explained “Since moving to L.A. I’ve been really engrossing myself in the film making world. I’ve been acting in a bunch of things too, so for this music video I decided to gather a lot of the talented people I’ve met on set, including an amazing cinematographer friend, and with their help I got to direct and produce the strangest video I could think of.”
And has he ever! The video opens with a scene of Phreely asleep in bed with his girlfriend. As he awakens, the camera pans down to reveal him as only a head! He’s then shown resting atop the kitchen counter while his girlfriend reads the newspaper. Next she’s carrying him under her arm as she walks down the street, later placing him on the roof of the car as she drives to a club. When the doorman points to a sign notifying patrons of a $10 cover per person, she opens her bag to show him Phreely’s head. Soon he’s situated on the bar trying to down his drink, then his head is knocked off the bar and onto the floor. He ends up being placed on a stool on stage and sings with the band while everyone dances. At dawn, he leaves with another woman he met at the bar as she carries him away, at one point dropping him on the sidewalk! I love his facial expressions throughout the video that manage to make something that could have been creepy be lighthearted and hilarious. Have a look:
Phreely has begun working on a new album with his backing band The Horses, and I can’t wait to hear it! To learn more about him and his music, check out his Website
I recently discovered the amazingly talented, quirky-named artist Wons Phreely (his real name is Justin Wonsly). He has one of the most interesting, unique voices I’ve heard in a long while. The kind of voice that sounds like no one else – a valuable commodity in today’s overcrowded music industry. Phreely draws his musical influences from such disparate artists as Morrissey, Joe Strummer and Buddy Holly, which is why his style is difficult to categorize. He seems to move effortlessly from dance-pop to folk-rock to alt-rock.
The young singer/songwriter started his music career in Sydney, Australia, where he recorded several great upbeat singles, including “The World Has a Bank Account” and “Tonight,” followed by a fairly decent eight-track EP To Begin With… in 2011. Phreely, along with his new back-up band The Horses, has now dropped a fantastic new single “Stars.”
The song has an interesting backstory. Phreely originally wrote it one night while living in a tiny studio above a bar in the red-light district of Sydney’s Kings Cross. He penned the lyrics to describe his subconscious longing to make a big life change, but fearful of doing anything about it. As luck would have it, just a few days after writing the song, he saw an ad for an open call for singers to submit themselves to play the role of young Roy Orbison in a planned biopic feature film. According to his bio information sent to me, Phreely submitted his best song rendition and was soon meeting with the estate of the Orbison family, who were producing the film and would have final say over the casting of the role of their father. Unfortunately, after months of meetings, discussions and auditions, the fate of the proposed film is stuck in limbo. But there’s a silver lining: inspired and invigorated by his new Los Angeles surroundings, Phreely seized the opportunity and decided to further his music career there. In 2015, he assembled a band of accomplished musicians (the lineup of which has changed over time), thereby creating Wons Phreely + The Horses, who together brought his song “Stars” to fruition.
It’s an incredibly catchy number, with a great hook that immediately grabs hold, forcing you to move with the infectious, 80s retro dance beat. Plucky guitars and sharp percussion add to the fresh synth arrangement, keeping the energy flowing, and Phreely’s smoldering, halting vocals are absolutely captivating. I had this song on repeat while writing this piece and am now addicted! It just gets better with each listen. As I noted above, the lyrics speak to his ambivalence about making a life change:
“I went to my neighbor he said why wait another moment later. You wanna find some explanation then you really oughta make your own decision. And if something clouds your vision it’s time to move move move. Cause there’s too many lights in the city tonight. So I can’t see the stars till the moment has passed.”
I really like the song’s video, in which Phreely sings the song while standing in front of a black background. When he sings the chorus, he wildly gyrates back and forth, this time with varying types of facial hair, and his short hair now long and flowing, perhaps to show the changes he speaks of in the song lyrics.
I like to include extra songs and videos to give a greater perspective of an artist or band’s talent and music style. Here are a couple of performances with session musicians from 2012 at the Skeet Music Studio in Sydney, Australia. In the first, Phreely shows his folk/rock side in the hauntingly beautiful ballad “Manny You’re My Sweetheart.” The song was inspired by Phreely’s former roommate who was transgender.
Here’s a great live performance of the delightful song “Tonight.”
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 