These Fresh Faves were picked by our readers over the weekend – and reviewed by Fresh On The Net’s Bobby Colcombe this week. You can hear all these tracks in a single Soundcloud playlist here.

AILBHE REDDY – The Tube

“There’s nothing I can say or do, say to you.” Dublin-based Ailbhe Reddy laments on the slowly driving and climactic song The Tube; a song where Reddy’s frustration and slightly envious look at lover that never was, perhaps never will be seeps through the casually rocking and bouncy choruses. By the close, the mood builds to one of near-acceptance for Reddy above a furore of crashing cymbals and slamming guitars.

This track creeps up and sweeps you off your feet.

Reddy has just completed a small UK tour and her EP Attach To Memory is available to stream online. She has already clocked over 2m streams on Spotify.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

AUTUMNMUSIC – 3Wisemen

Live looping in music is a fast growing policy in the mainstream music scene. I suspect that Ed Sheeran may have had some influence in this. Thankfully, there are plenty of artists out there who refuse to restrict themselves to merely a guitar and an attempt at rapping. Autumnmusic is one such artist.

3wisemen is a cleverly constructed piece that relies on the lyrics to grab our attention. The production and beats are introduced steadily and feel like they take an age to kick in but this is all tension, designed to engage us further. Looped vocal lines are carefully layered on top of one another to create a kind of industrial urban vibe; it feels tense and anxious as “You don’t care about us” repeats and rings out.

Autumnmusic is the solo project of Brighton/London based musical artist Rosi Croom. She is a multiple award winner at The UK Song Writing Contest. See her live at Sobar in Nottingham on the 24th.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

BEAU SEJOUR – Our Weapon

Given the current political climate it’s not surprising that we’re hearing more and more politically charged lyrics blasting their way into our eardrums with artists like IDLES, Cabbage and Sleaford Mods.

London based “Pop nonsense” maker Beau Sejour could be filed next door to these. From the addictive opening guitar riff, he has our attention with an almost stream of consciousness of left-leaning political perspective that could well have been written by Owen Jones. With a voice that reminded me of Ezra Furman, Beau Sejour sings of despairing times (“build walls high”) but remains defiant (“we’ll knock them down”).

Beau Sejour is the moniker of Andy Gibbard and based in London. No live dates announce but an album titled Inside is to be released soon.

Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

BLACK MIRROR – The Arrow

From start to finish The Arrow is hauntingly beautiful. Feeling like this song was birthed from a barren cold wasteland it has contrasting warmth to it. Singer Inés Bonet’s soft and delicate European pronunciation of English lyrics is the perfect balance for the busy but steady guitars underneath.

Along with Bonet on vocals, Black Mirror’s line-up is completed by guitarist Arsenio Cavada. They are based in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain. Their Soundcloud profile suggests quite a prolific output and their latest album No Colours For Concern was released earlier this year.

Soundcloud | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

BRYDE – Desire

What does it mean to have desire? You lust, yearn, itch, need, want, wish and crave. All these impulses and emotions are all present here. Brdye is full of buoyancy and energy to begin with on Desire, over brooding guitars which weigh down the track nicely. Come the chorus she remonstrates what we do “for desire”, leading her to sound almost jaded and exhausted from desire’s effect on us; the need for instant gratification. Her vocals are as strong as the rousing percussion throughout.

Bryde aka Sarah Howells hails from Pembrokeshire but currently resides in London. She is signed to Seahorse Music / Tipping Point and is about to embark on a few dates supporting John Joseph Brill starting in London (TONIGHT!).

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

CALVA LOUISE – Getting Closer

Top dogs this week were Calva Louise with Getting Closer. This cut is all piercing riffs, strident vocals and tongue-in-cheek lyrics are the complete package a healthy dose of bratty garage-rock. Quite simply put Calva Louise are so much fun and sound like they’re on top of the world.

They’re a trio based in Camden, London and have been very busy on the gig front. I’d be interested to see if they could pull of this riot live – see for yourself as they embark on a short tour in December starting in London @ The Water Rats on December 2nd, then onto the famous King Tuts in Glasgow.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

DRAMALOVE – Play With you

Next up is alt-rock three-piece Dramalove, originally from Italy but now based in Canterbury. The trio have already reached a certain level of stardom by reaching the semi-finals of the Italian version of X Factor.

The production-heavy Play With You is a fine example of the band’s talent with singer Diego Soncin’s vocal a prominent feature throughout – very reminiscent of Muse’s Matt Bellamy and his iconic wailing. You can hear experience within the ranks and they’re know what they’re doing and what they want. Lots of potential to be as big in the UK as the heights they reached in the Italian charts.

Catch them live at the following dates:

Nov 23 – Brighton – The Prince Albert
Jan 10 2018 – NME Presents @The Monarch – London

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

JAMES EDGE AND THE MINDSTEP – Softbone

The jazz-folk trio have already been featured on Fresh Net in 2016 in a week of Fresh Faves lovingly reviewed by our own Derval. Seeing in the New Year James Edge and the Mindstep has released a wonderfully gentle and endearing acoustic ballad.

Edge’s well-spoken and whispered pronunciation is a match made in acoustic heaven and the introduction of subtle string arrangements in the chorus make the track so mellow you feel like you’re floating. Softbone really is an apt title. The shift between minor and major creates a solemn atmosphere whilst the brushed drumming shuffles the track along without becoming dull. By the end it feels as if one has just finished meditating.

Softbone will be released as an AA side on 1st December along with Worn.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

THE GREENERS – No Place Like Home

Well this is exciting; a fresh piece of contemporary bluegrass. What else could you ask for on the folky checklist? Pizzicato action, check. Bendy double bass, check. Back-and-forth vocals, check. Add in satirical lyrics and playful harmonies make No Place Like Home a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Dare I say The Greeners remind me of a British Nickel Creek; progressive, talented and pure joy to listen to.

The London duo’s self-titled debut album is released on November 24th – find it on their Bandcamp page.

Also check out their fun and hilarious video for this track.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

VICTORIA – Temperature

To finish a stellar list this week requires a stellar act. Lucky for us we have one in the form of London five-piece Victoria. The band are made up of perfoming arts graduates in different forms – two from ICMP (one of which with a BA in Music Business) so it’s safe to say these guys know the path down which they must walk to get to stardom. For stardom are the heights which Victoria aspires to reach.

On Temperature alone you can see hear the elevated-sense of song writing. The production of the stadium-sounding guitars and Coldplay-esque pianos solidify their lofty ambition – it’s a sound written for the masses.

Victoria play The Finsbury Pub in London on December 1st. I get the feeling that we’ll be hearing more from these guys in the future. A LOT MORE.

Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

PS from TR: If you’ve submitted a track that hasn’t been picked for the Listening Post, our team has definitely listened to it and there’s no need to send it again: feel free to send us an even stronger track another week. The same goes if you were picked for the Listening Post but didn’t feature in our Fresh Faves.

But if we’ve recently featured you in our Fresh Faves – or on my BBC Introducing Mixtape – please wait three months before sending us another track, so we have space to help other deserving artists… For more info see Robinson Has A Good Old Moan.