Welcome to Batch 68: Fresh On The Netters! I’m the new girl, and I’m tasked with lovingly detailing this weeks fresh faves. My five choices included four of the top ten which fills me with a touch of confidence and hopefully will let me do them justice for you..

BÉLA TAKES CHASE – Take What’s Mine

Rarely do you find a voice that is rich and sumptuous yet inherently fragile. Bela’s voice captivated me from the get go and I was intrigued to find out that she hails from Newcastle, Australia. Australia seems to be a hotbed of diverse musical talent that is breaking on UK shores at the moment, and I believe she has something extra special to make an impact in the UK.

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BEN SEE – Scribble Book

Ben See (pictured above) is a bedroom musician from South London, who got a rave review from Chris Bye when he previously featured in our Fresh Faves back in February, He writes and performs music with his voice and nothing else. A looping and sampling maestro with an exquisite vocal range, he layers his music which has an air of the spiritual about it.

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ECHO PARK – Circles

There is a debut in the midst here at Fresh On The Net! Echo Park: a five piece rock band from Guildford, have been together just shy of a year and uploaded their debut single Circles that’s guaranteed to attract your ears. Their style of pop influenced rock has been compared to the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Hundred Reasons and Brand New and if you like what you hear, you can download it for free on their Bandcamp. Winner..

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JULIE FEENEY – Dear John

It is rare that you hear a voice that strikes you as completely original, but Julie Feeney’s voice is instantly recognisable. Whilst originally raised in Galway, Julie is now based in New York but derived her inspiration for Dear John from family memories of home. This string laden outing is inspired by her grandparents and their moonlight cycle rides in the 1920’s, the song tells a tale of excitement and happiness and is a folk triumph.

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KATE DOUBLEDAY -The Dunes

The delightful folk sound of Kate Doubleday is said to be a deeply felt celebration of the wild beauty of the Welsh landscape. The Dunes: with its title and lyrics telling a story of the breeze, butterflies, bees, skylarks and the sea; sets you right into the landscape. With a beautiful flute accompaniment and the lightest of finger picking indicating that her Pied Flycatcher EP must be well worth the listen. Catch her in August touring at Wildlife Trust reserves across the UK!

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MICKEY GLOSS – Are You Happy

Did I mention that Australia seems to be a hotbed.. oh. I did? Right. Did I also mention that more and more of these Australian artists doing well in the UK are moving over here? Cloud Control and Jagwar Ma are two that immediately spring to mind, Mickey Gloss is another to add to that list. Well, unless you believe his facebook page which places him at home in ‘Sexytown’!. This blast of psychedelic punk-fuzz garage asks are you happy? Listening to you Mickey? YES.

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ROBINSON – Superlove

Andy Robinson is better known as Robinson and hails from Worcester from where he unleashes his music in storytelling form. A talented multi-instrumentalist that draws inspiration from Dylan, Waits and Martyn, ‘Superlove’ is heart on sleeve Americana. An upbeat toe tapping number that can’t fail to put a smile on your face despite the bittersweet lyrics that pursue an air of melancholy.

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THE VITAMINS – Keys To The Limousine

They term themselves a rock n roll band, but there is more than a touch of garage infused into The Vitamins sound. Reminiscent of early Black Keys and The White Stripes to my ears ‘The Keys To The Limousine’ is rifftastic and offers to ‘teach you how to shred faster than you’ve ever seen’, how can you refuse eh? Out mid month through Sturm Und Drang / The Right To Bear Records..

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TIGERCUB – Centerfold

If I was sat in a dark room and made to listen to this song repeatedly for hours on end, it would still not be long enough. This song has got so far into my subconscious that I’m tempted to move to Brighton and become their neighbour. Failing that they’re touring in support of Dinosaur Pile Up in July and there is absolutely no reason to miss their ( self coined ) brand of abrasive pop.
NB – Not to be confused with the US-based trio Tigercub in Indiana!

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TOM MITCHELL – Run into the Ground

According to his website Bristol based musician Tom Mitchell is a supporting guitarist of some 20 years experience having worked with artists such as Duffy. His acoustic guitar tones on ‘Run Into The Ground’ certainly have a catchy melodic interface and I’m impressed with anyone that manages to squeeze the word fecker into a song and yet still keep it classy.

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