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

Back again! Tis my turn to come up with something fancy and clever to say about all the crackin’ music in this week’s Fresh Faves. Here goes…

AAYUSHI – My Space Is Overgrown

This was the perfect song for me to listen to first. My Space Is Overgrown sounds like strawberry milkshake. My favourite kind of milkshake. It is sweet and perfect. And it’s full of a load of good friendly vibes. It drifts in like a polite partner searching though your clean clothes in the hope that they might find something oversized to borrow. Just like a lot of the artists I listen to, Aayushi, 18 years old, hasn’t yet taken her music outside of her bedroom. I’m looking forward to to the day she ventures out.

Soundcloud

CUCCU – Ripple

Hello, how are you Cucco? This tune is simple and natural. I guess the name Ripple kind of makes sense. I used to own a dictaphone and I recorded snippets of songs, ideas and thoughts onto it. But it never occurred to me that I could actually record a full-length song onto it. Or even better, an album! Welcome to the world of “English Lofi Freak Folk”.

Soundcloud

HAWK – Antidote

I’ve been loving this tune all week. It walks the balance perfectly between fun and fashion. Bonkers and beautiful. If you’re not a fan of some of the well-known Joanna Newsomisms and Bjork-esque idiosyncrasies then you may want to steer clear. But me, well I love em! I love the sound and the soul in this record. The more girly idiosyncrasy the better. There’s also a poppin’ video online of Antidote sat alongside one of their other tunes.

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LVLS – Echoes

Taken from their Teenager EP, this tune lives and breathes youth. “Yooooooooth” one of the things that music seems to do so well I always think. Music = young naivety. Music = young love. Music = young pain. I enjoyed this messy romp, but I was expecting (and hoping for) a stronger hook to be honest. If a band is gonna thrash around like LVLS do, then I need to be able to singalong. I liked it though, I feel slightly bruised…

Official | Soundcloud | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

MERCURY 13 – Cities And Satellites

This song sounds a bit like it’s come from space. Thinking about it, I always thought the Manic Street Preachers were aliens. Was that just me? Anyways, this was one of the weaker tunes on the Listening Post for me, maybe I like planet earth too much? “As I sailed the oceans to cleanse my soul of sin”. Not for me. x

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RUMOUR CUBES – Hiyat

These guys have got their second long player on the way, and it’s gonna be a pretty special beast if this track is anything to go by. Six people get together in a room to make this wonderful lush noise. But unlike a lot of their contemporaries, these guys are staying well away from being too lavish or indulgent. Rumour Cubes even manage to sit in the pocket for a while. It’s got the sex! They play Bristol’s Arc Tangent Festival in August – I’ll be the one front row with a massive grin on his face.

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WORDS+NOISES – Lost Art Of Conversation

Cool cool cool. This is a cool tune. Quick witted and funny. The band have a new EP coming out this summer with Lost Art of Conversation on it. I hope they can keep up the high standards they’ve set themselves.

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ZYGMUNT DAY+ECHO PRESSURE – Wanderers

And so I come to the last tune. I love guitar acrobatics. Jumping, summersaults, grinding, burping, singing… Zygmunt Day+Echo Pressure know how to chuck a guitar lick around. I think there’s a bit of work to do vocally, but then that it a criticism I have of 90% of the music I listen to. My favourite thing about this band, is that they have managed to steer clear of the math pop brand. Well done – it’s much more history or geography than arithmetic. Get in.

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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.