Monday morning is not going so well as I bring you more unfortunate news. A huge icon of mine and many others, Issac Hayes, has passed. Some relatives found Hayes dead yesterday next to his treadmill that was still running in his home in Memphis. He is best known for his writing and recording of the “Theme From Shaft” for the original film Shaft in 1971. The song quickly reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Hayes is an icon of American soul music with his funk sound stemming from southern soul.

Hayes accomplished an Academy Award for Best Original Song and three Grammy awards throughout his lifetime. Hayes was also a big humanitarian and was titled an honorary king of Ghana’s Ada district. He was also the beloved voice of “Chef” on South Park until 2006. Hayes was an amazingly talented man and will be GREATLY missed. RIP Mr. Hayes.

This is a bit atypical of the bands that we generally choose for Synthesis Band of the Day. No horn-rimmed glasses, waifish broads with ugly indie-rock haircuts, ‘roid-bicep hardcore meatheads, striped sweater wussies or epic Dungeons & Dragons progressive metalheads. No, Phredley brings the funk-rock.

In my fledgling college days, back when tie-dye wasn’t as vomitous and my roommate’s constant Phish-Grateful Dead-Phish musical rotation didn’t drive me completely bonkers, I would have broken my left leg to check out a band like Phredley. Now bad photoshop effects kinda irk me, patchouli oil makes me want to hurl and hippie funk in general just pisses me off. But not Phredley. They’s alright.

Based around a brother-sister duo (Phred Brown on Vocals, Guitar & Horns; Alesha Brown on Keys & Vocals) and a rhythm section (Paul Loos, Drums & Vocals; Samuel Tobias Winn, Bass & Vocals) Phredley lays down funk that is far closer to the heart of nearby Detroit than that of longhair revivalists in Colorado or Vermont. And when they stray toward the pop side of the spectrum, it comes across more as radio-friendly than looking for a parking lot miracle. More importantly (for me at least), their lyrics hold water. With the aforementioned hippie-funk enthusiasts, it’s most often the lyrics that drive me to enraged hysterics; Phredley uses some clever (or nearly clever) turns of phrase. No, Phred’s not Leonard Cohen by any means, but in a sometimes poppy, sometimes rocky funk quartet, it works. Their track “The Truth About Capricorns” also has some pretty, Beatelesque, tonally complex passages. If you’re a big fan of Ben Harper/Jack Johnson/Maroon 5, or your ’70s R&B records don’t have much dust on them, do yourself a favor and look into Phredley.