These Fresh Faves were picked by our readers over the weekend and Team Freshnet’s Steff Lane stayed up late on Sunday night to review them. You can hear all these tracks in a single Soundcloud playlist here.

AIRPORT 85 – Persona

We kick off this week’s Fresh Faves with our old friends Airport 85 – and what a good way to start.Full of innocence, proceeding to a great chorus then returning to a normal format. ‘Normal’ is never a good way to describe anything musical and Airport 85 proves my point… Persona is a top tune that keeps you enthralled throughout. Harmonized vocals are a strong point, in unison with the soft and hard focus of the song.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

BASTARD MOUNTAIN – Meadow Ghosts

Bastard Mountain is a Scottish supergroup brought to us courtesy of Song By Toad Records and comprising many talents. Hi Pete Harvey and Neil Pennycook (Meurault), Jill O’Sullivan (Sparrow & The Workshop), Rob St.John (Eagleowl), Rory Sutherland (Broken Records) and Reuben Taylor (James Yorkston & The Athletes). Not namedropping but you all deserve a mention. Full of drones and textures but containing the light side of the dark. Bastard Mountain is an experimentation that holds positive effects which shine through any negative attitudes. We’re loving the experiment!

Info | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter

BED. – Boys

Bed. are a band from Portland, Oregon. They are tagged as – #Pop, #Alternative, #Goth, #Indie #Shoegaze, #Portland. It’s a new project from Breakup Records by founders Alex Haager and Sierra Frost – and this is the band’s second single, out on May 20th. Sadly, this is the only information available to me at this time – I wish that I could say much more because I believe that their music deserves it! But for now, let’s tag them as a louder and more alternative version of Shoegaze that begs to be heard.

Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

BEST BOY GRIP – Bye Bye Mister

Best Boy Grip‘s song Buy Buy Mister grabs you by the jugular – straight into the vocals – with no superficial cracks. It has a catchy verse that changes the tempo with an even more catchy chorus before downtoning to a final verse and chorus, then fading out and begging for the replay button. This is a really fine track – I’ll carry on listening to this for a long time!

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

HSINCHANG – Bow No More

Sadly, yet another artist without any information available, which is a shame when the music is so good! Hsin Chang‘s vocals pierce through the sublimity of this haunting track, cumulating into an earworm of an everlasting chorus. No need to bow – you have risen. (Maybe Hsin Chang should take a look at How To Write A Band Biog – TR.)

Soundcloud

JOSH SAVAGE – Lost In Paris

No lengthy intro here either. Josh Savage‘s vocals kick in right from the start and my, oh my, such sweet vocals they are. The harmonies enhance the vocals even further, against a backdrop of guitar and strings. Josh was born in England but then spent his childhood in France before returning to live in Winchester. Returning to his Parisian roots, Josh recorded and produced his French album Une Migration d’Oiseaux (A Migration Of Birds) where one of the tracks – Quatre Epines – was decribed by our very own Tom Robinson as “wonderful”. Lost In Paris deserves the same accolade and is available on Josh’s newly released Spaces EP.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

PARIIS OPERA HOUSE – Hearts

Hearts is an uptempo electronic track by Pariis Opera House – a production duo based – not in Pariis, but in Lonndon. Their web presence is devoid of their names, but they’ve been described as “the glorious lovechild of Klaxtons and Justice” and their previous endeavours have been championed on BBC 6 Music by Lauren Laverne and Nemone as well as Tom Robinson. In my opinion, this tune paves a positive way forward – great track guys!

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Tumblr

STICK IN THE WHEEL – Bedlam

Stick In The Wheel is a folk outfit from London and there’s no false pretence on this track Bedlam – what you hear is what you get – and I love it ! Music that comes straight from the heart, with no false accent: it’s a timeless piece. The band themselves describe their music as being “for our people” – which hopefully includes all of us. Yes, Stick In The Wheel I love your culture and tradition – long may you reign. You’ve won me over.

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

THE LAKE DISTRICT – Framed

Ah… as time goes by… This beautiful ambient piano masterpiece – filled with haunting landscapes – comes from a project by Los Angeles musicians and composer Trevor Ransom – aka The Lake District. Inspired by the classic 1942 film Casablanca, Trevor successfully portrays the essence of a futile relationship torn apart by war – but still retaining a glimmer of impending hope. This particular portrait has been framed and placed high in my music gallery!

Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

THEATRE ROYAL – French Riviera 1988

Forget Bryan Adams and his Summer Of 69. Instead jump back (or forward) to 1988 with Theatre Royal and welcome the delights of the era even – if you’ve never been there. This is top track that builds up and encroaches on your emotions with every line. Hailing from Rochester, and no strangers to Fresh On The Net, Theatre Royal will be releasing their third album , an 11-track release called We Don’t Know Where We Are on June 9th. Looking forward !

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

WOLF GIRL – Samson

Wolf Girl are “a garage-pop / twee-punk four-piece based in London, UK” whose next gig is on May 30th in Shoreditch. And that is all I can tell you about them – oh, what would I give for more information!  After low key start the vocals kick in and you are drawn into the track. But you can hear that for yourselves: have a listen and let their music do the talking. You won’t be disappointed!

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | Songkick | Tumblr

PS from TR: If you’ve submitted a track that hasn’t made the Listening Post you’re welcome to re-submit it another week. If your music has appeared on the Listening Post but not in our Fresh Faves, feel free to send us an even stronger track another week.

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.