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

ASYA SATTI – Look At You Now

What a start to the week Look At You Now is. Here is an afro-fusion track with a blend of soul, blues and pop, all held together by beautifully pure bilingual vocals from Asaya Satti. In theory it probably shouldn’t work, but it really does in practice.

Asaya is London based and a Swedish-Sudanese singer heavily influenced in her early years by travelling between the varied cultures of Sweden, Egypt and UK. More recently she has stirred up a bit of controversy by singing typically male-sung Sudanese pop songs. Good on her, I say. Apparently there have been calls for her to cease performing the songs — somehow I doubt that’s going to happen, and she will continue to also write her own music about strong and confident women.

There is a great post on Asaya’s Instagram, where she shows her father the video of Look At You Now.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

CHAMPS – All The Wrong Places

All The Wrong Places is a song about “those long nights that visit us when our subconscious is alive and well and take us to those wrong places.” I can relate to that. It’s a great indie pop, synth-driven electro track with a lovely retro feel. Please be aware that it’s also a bit of an earworm after a few listens.

Champs are brothers Michael and David Champion, who are part of IOW vibrant music scene. Michael played the bass on the Wet Leg debut. They formed in 2012, and have released three albums, with a fourth, Ride The Morning Glass, due out on 26th April.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

EARTHLUNG – Joy¿

Oh the joy of FOTN, now for something completely different. The best description of Joy¿ comes from the band themselves: “Possibly the most cynical track you’ll hear all year… we’re very proud to share this song with you all. We had a lot of fun writing and recording this in the Netherlands last summer. Although it started life as a bit of a musical joke, we can’t deny loving it now. In fact, it might very well be our catchiest tune to do date!”

Combining Charles’s gargantuan backbeat, Alex’s fuzzy bass riffs, Folly’s wall of sound, and Ebony’s sneering voice, this song is a true Alt-Rock/Post-Punk banger! Damn right it’s catchy, and that “fuzzy bass riff” is another killer earworm.

Earthlung is an Alt Rock Brighton-based band with members from England, France, and the Netherlands. They have, as many of our acts, had support from their local BBC Introducing team.

Instagram | Facebook

ELLA JINKS – Strangers

Now for a complete change of pace. Strangers is a song that gives me the vision of a solo chanteuse with guitar in hand charming the audience in a smoky café bar late at night in Paris in the late 60s early 70s. It is a beautifully sung, heartfelt song telling us how the singer feels left behind and all alone. The vocals have a rich tone leaving me with the feeling of a hot chocolate of a cold day, all warm and comforted.

Ella Jinks is a Brit school graduate, but unfortunately there is nothing posted about future gigs etc.

Linktree | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

LUNIKK – Violet Hour

Another electro pop duo. Violet Hour has quite a dark feel to me with some big synth sounds overlaid with slightly haunting and sharp precise vocals. Lunnik, who are from Bulgaria, met a couple of years ago and never had the intention of making music together. Kristina was disillusioned with music and Denny was already in a rock band. Two years later, with a studio built in their apartment and a strong desire to hate and love the world, together they are starting to make a name for themselves, and were recently named by Forbes Bulgaria as one of the “Top 30 under 30” role models.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

NOVELTY ISLAND – Eureka, I Can See!

Eureka, I Can See has a dreamy late 50s / early 60s doo-wop style track, and to me also gives a nod to very early Beatles. In a way that’s no surprise when you find out that Novelty Island is in fact the project of Liverpool-based singer and songwriter Tom McConnell, and Eureka is his homage to the North, recorded at Abbey Road using the Mrs Mills piano (which featured prominently in Penny Lane and With a Little Help From My Friends). It’s a right cracker, at 2:44 is perfectly formed for radio play, and has already had plays and support from BBC Radio 6 Music.

Novelty Island have a hometown show on 31st March before embarking on a 11 venue tour in April.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

PEARL’S CAB RIDE – Living Proof

Right then, off you go, get your dancing shoes on and meet me down the front. Come and join me in having a darn right, good old boogey. No standing at the back and nodding along to this groovy track. This is the real funk jazz McCoy, great brass, funky bass, Nile Rogers-like riffs a plenty, and great soulful vocals. Classic and I love it.

From Hull, Pearl’s Cab Ride originally formed in 1991 and had a great time in the 90s. They split up and reformed for a one-off celebratory show in 2015. The rest they say is history, and Pearl’s Cab Ride still playing and wowing audiences mainly in the Hull area.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

PREEN – The Last Act (Goodbye)

Harmonies are at the heart of this track, which reminds me of some of the great prog acts of the 70s, like The Alan Parsons Project, such is the strength of the blend and the musicianship throughout the track. It’s a real builder, staring gently and leading us in a chord-driven procession and progression before the grand “goodbyes”. Preen were originally a trio of solo songwriters, but are now a quintet. Their bio says they are already booked for multiple festivals including Ritual Union in Bristol and Get Together in Sheffield. Well worth checking out if they are playing a festival you are attending.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

SYMBOL SOUP – Overdressed

Overdressed is a lovely laidback piece of Americana reminding me of a chilled REM. Symbol Soup is the recording project of Michael Rae, and he says of the song “It’s a love song from the perspective of someone who’s overly cynical, and judges everyone around them as superficial or ‘overdressed’. They have a bit of an ‘us against the world’ mentality and feel trapped in a maze of surface-level interactions. They don’t learn a whole lot by the end of the song, but they are fully connected to one person, and that’s the connection to something deeper that they’re desperate for.”

A new signing to Sad Club Records, Symbol Soup grew up in Milton Keynes, and always felt a little removed from standard music scenes. No need to feel that way producing tracks like this!

There is also a fun accompanying video — I have no idea how it relates to the track, but it is fun.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

VIRENS – Salut!

We end this week with another duo. Salut! is another track with very strong harmonies. It’s an Alt Folk track which starts with single voice verse, duet chorus, and single voice reply. The voices are backed originally by simple guitar then adding what sounds like a frame drum and building up to full orchestral sounding synths. Salut! is the first release for Virens, who are Louisa Connolly-Burnham and James New. It is a very accomplished debut and I am looking forward to hearing more from them.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

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.