Fred Presley – “One of These Days” [Song Review]

Fred Presley’s “One of These Days,” taken from his 2025 album, Our Selfish Ways, is a delightfully plainspoken, mid-tempo folk-rock tune that changes endurance into hopefulness and victory. It’s a song about the idea that if you keep moving, the horizon eventually shifts.

“This is a song written when things weren’t going so well in my life, but I really believed that in time it would all work out,” Presley shares. “It’s a song to bring a little optimism to a sometimes-harsh world.”

Presley’s story reads like a footnote in a dusty history book. Born in Alabama, the ninth of ten kids, he grew up in a home where music wasn’t a hobby so much as an ambiance. His family had ties to The Cowsills—the bubbly ’60s hitmakers whose rise later helped spark The Partridge Family—a neat bit of trivia.

While listening to bluegrass and rock—The Beatles and The Who, the swagger of the Stones, Frampton’s gloss, Hank Williams Sr.’s gravity—he started to put together a distinctively approachable sound. He got his first guitar when he was 13, and the writing followed.

Fred Presley, photo courtesy of Fred Presley

Before his solo career began, Presley detoured through Soul Whiskey, a project that allowed him to revive older ideas and hear what still held up when exposed to the light.

On “One of These Days,” a driving beat does most of the heavy lifting, while bright, slightly jangling guitars catch the light like chrome. Harmonies hover and glow, smoothing the song out and adding subtle nuances, and Presley’s worn-in, easy drawl sells the emotional mood of the song by not overselling it. There’s a Tom Petty-ish influence in the chord changes, vocals, and melodic motion, but the track’s real appeal is its unflashy blend of folk-rock, pop, Americana, and alt-rock.

Defined by lush, subtle harmonies and impressionistic songwriting, “One of These Days” casts a satisfying sonic spell.

Run Time: 4:11
Release Date: April 24, 2026
Record Label: Independent