Another Monday morning, another varied and exciting batch of Fresh Favourites as picked by you. A big thank you to everyone that voted for your favourite tracks this week, we’ve been overwhelmed by the positivity and generosity of the Fresh On The Net users! Sit back on this Bank Holiday and tuck in to some deliciously new and innovative music with everything from Rock ‘n’ Roll to Electro and everything in between.

BIG WAVE – Dying on the Vine

From the opening bars of Dying on the Vine you’d be forgiven you’d stumbled upon a Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaur B-Side, the psychedelic reverberations leading inevitably into a four to the floor dance beat. Persevere however, and you are rewarded with three minutes of relentless indie-surf-pop and a strong dose of nostalgia. You couldn’t pin-point a single era to be credited in influencing Torquay’s Big Wave but either way it’s instantly endearing and inescapably catchy. If you’re lucky enough to be at End of the Road Festival this weekend you can catch the band live, if not then check  out their website for tour dates and new tunes.

EMPEROR YES – Fishes

Moving from retro sounds to retro releases with a notably modern twist. Emperor Yes may be putting their first single out on Tape Club Records, whose first  releases came exclusively via cassette, but their sound is anything but dated. Swirling synths and surreal lyricism, Fishes is a delightfully odd offering from the three piece electro outfit. With nods to Animal Collective and Passion Pit, the track swells gradually driven on by sparse drums and a pounding, rhythmic bass line. Emperor Yes’ first single is released on 8th October, keep up to date with live shows and new tunes on the band’s Facebook page.

GALLERY CIRCUS – In 10

My favourite aspect of writing for Fresh On The Net is the variety of music that we receive, ranging from jazz to punk and electro to acoustic with every genre possible in between. So having just heard a smooth slice of swirling synth pop, how about some gritty rock ‘n’ roll courtesy of Newcastle two=piece, Galllery Circus? You can’t help but be infatuated by the chunky guitar riffs and raucous harmonies on In 10, which moves  from thrashing rhythms to a steady waltzing beat before dropping into a section of piccolo violins as naturally as if it were the most conventional instrumentation choice in the world. Check out the video for In 10 on the band’s website!

MINA TINDLE – Bells

Across the channel in the French Capital, Parisian songstress Mina Tindle is producing some truly stunning folk-pop tunes. There’s hint of Anais Mitchell and Ani DiFranco here along with some subtle instrumentation and an enchanting vocal style. Bells’ biggest achievement is maintaining a sense of urgency, of movement and progression, something which many acoustic artists fail to achieve. The delicate songwriting of Mina is complimented by a range of percussion and effected vocal loops to add a psychedelic element to the whole affair. Soothing and surprising in equal measure, if you’re intrigued by this artist as much as I am then head over to the her website for more.

ORLANDO SEALE & THE SWELL – Dance Little Man

From solo singer songwriter to a single troubadour backed by a nine piece band, we move on with pleasure to Orlando Seale & The Swell. For the first minute of Dance Little Man it’d be easy to mistake this for just another folk track. But as the drums spring to life from 55 seconds onwards this becomes a behemoth of a track complete with swelling violins, subtle harmonies and a relentless rhythm. Tentative comparisons could easily be made to the likes Arcade Fire and perhaps even David Bowie? Orlando and co have a long way to go to live up to Ziggy but there’s potential here and no doubt a great songwriter. Check out the band’s facebook to find out when you can see them rammed onto a tiny stage somewhere in London.

THANK PABLO – A Little Sunshine

A Little Sunshine is exactly what we need right now if you’re in the UK and pining for those precious few weeks of summer just past and quickly replaced by bluster and downpours. Producing a sound that is nothing short of ecstatic, London-based four piece, Thank Pablo describe their music as ‘sun-kissed folk-pop’ which seems spot on to us here at FOTN. A Little Sunshine is inescapably upbeat and undeniably catchy. Head over to the band’s website for more tunes.

THE BIG SUN – Folly

Lo-fi is a dirty word is it not? Low fidelity suggests something unclear, unpolished and low quality. This track from Oxford indie outfit The Big Sun is proof positive that this  is not always the case. Sure Folly is empty save for a single guitar and the delicate vocal of 15 year old front-woman, Berry, but it’s in that sparsity that the combination become all the more powerful. Drifting on, driven by a lazily strummed electric guitar, Berry’s vocal melodies do the job of several layers of complex instrumentation. It’s strangely charming and reeks of the kind of potential that has A&R men fighting each other in the street. Catch them while you can on the band’s soundcloud page.

THEATRE ROYAL – A Hundred Thousand Tears

Theatre Royal is one of those band names that makes you work before being rewarded with music. Search it on facebook or google and you’ll no doubt have to wade through the pages for theatres in Newcastle, Liverpool and Bath before finding the band’s HQ on Facebook at WeAreTheatreRoyal. It’s like Bird or Daughter, deliberately difficult but oh so rewarding. From the title of this track you could easily think you’d stumbled across a dusty 2006 b-side from Emo-scenesters My Chemical Romance, but despite the exaggerated title, there’s something delightfully upbeat about this track. Perhaps it’s the brass or falsetto harmonies? Perhaps it’s the building drum textures or country and western guitar riffs? Perhaps it’s all of the above but either way it’s 3 minutes of music that left this listener with an inexplicable smile upon my face. Go check out the band’s second album available now via The Preservation Society.

THOM MORECROFT – Sexy Shade of Sunburn

I feel I should declare an interest here. I feel lucky to count Thom Morecroft as a friend and someone whom I’ve seen blossom on the Liverpool music scene over the last year or so. Friendship aside though there is no escaping his incredible vocal talent. It’s the roughness which makes it so endearing and the sheer power of his voice, something that perhaps only truly comes out in a live setting. Sexy Shade of Sunburn may sound like a throw-away track with a comical title but his songwriting ability is without question and the potential harboured is exciting to say the least. If you do one thing today (after checking out all of the above artists) then go and listen to some of Thom’s incredible tunes via Facebook.

WOODPECKER WOOLIAMS – Gull

Woodpecker Wooliams is a female artist from Brighton with a truly unique approach to musical composition. There’s nods to Bjork as well as plenty of American folk records and then the sort of distorted experimental electro that makes her music so special. The delicate vocals combine on this track with the high pitched hiss of gulls and the fizzing beats that wouldn’t be out of place on an EDM record. It’s wonderfully odd and totally enchanting. Check out Woodpecker Wooliams whole back-catalogue on her website.