There’s some artists who put it all into their songs. They see it as a way to express where they’ve been and the direction they’re going, and it’s an incredible way to connect them with their audience. For Nashville-based artist Daphne Willis this is her way of life. Her latest album Freaks Like Me is the chronicle of her past year. It’s in this album she talks her past afflictions and really introduces everyone to her as an artist.
Daphne Willis just sings with a quality you can’t explain. Her sound is a mix of soul and sass that can’t quite be put into words. On top of that she’s giving you a show – something you hear in the first couple of verses of titled track “Freaks Like Me”.
Daphne Willis Works With Versatility
Willis serves us a variety of sounds. She easily goes from an almost intro song “Freaks Like Me” to this beautifully uplifting ballad “Somebody’s Someone”.
She does an amazing job of inviting her listeners in and making them comfortable. This is something she’s direct about as she said, “The gist of the song is that there’s no such thing as normal, but everyone’s a freak we can embrace” about “Freaks Like Me”.
It really leads into this empowering element that she puts in everything she sings about. Willis sings with a very honest undertone that you can’t ignore.
She’s singing about her journey as a person which makes the album feel so much realer and transparent. It’s almost like a candid conversation that Willis wants her fans to be a part of.
She can go from singing about how love is the new thing she’s addicted to and how it’s her “kind of dopamine”. Then on the same album speak so candidly about addiction like in “Out of Black” where she sings “I’ve been going down the wrong track / gotta get myself back out of the black”. It’s ridiculously impressive and it gives this album so much personality and depth.
All of this pulls together to give us an album we can listen and really connect to. She’s going through different issues and still reminding the listener how important they are and still giving this weird amount of positivity in between songs about addiction. It’s a talented move and it can’t be pulled off by everyone, but Daphne Willis does it effortlessly.
You can keep up with Daphne Willis here, as well as check out her music here.
