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

AISHA BADRU – Lazy River

We start off this week’s Fresh Faves in a distinctly reflective mood. New York singer-songwriter Aisha Badru’s smoky, intimate voice feels all the more personal for the spare and delicate guitar notes that frame it, adding up to a soulful piece of indie folk as warm as it is introspective.

Aisha describes Lazy River as ‘a song that offers the perspective of being patient with ourselves in regards to the healing process that occurs after losing someone we love’. The thoughtful languor that permeates this new single makes it an appropriately soothing listen, perfectly matched to its title and conveying an abundance of quiet wisdom.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

ALISON EALES – Ever Forward

In the liner notes to his Tea & Symphony compilation albums, Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne writes about a late-60s pop microgenre close to my heart – the ‘English Baroque sound’, defined by ‘string quartets, woodwinds, and summer-into-autumn melancholy’. Alison Eales may be resident in Glasgow rather than Gloucestershire, but with Ever Forward, she draws from that wellspring to wonderfully yearning effect.

The same grand but minimal style of string arrangement that marks Colin Blunstone’s Say You Don’t Mind or John Cale’s Paris 1919 is in full force on Ever Forward, as is the same refined, vaulting vocal, but the result is every bit Alison’s own. It’s the second track from her upcoming debut album, and if the rest are as good as this we’re in for a real treat.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

DEAD AT THE RITZ – Ignite

Some songs are there to create a rich sonic atmosphere, and some songs are just out to rock. Ignite by Dead At The Ritz is that rare tune that does both, and it does so very well indeed.

With blasts of chilly guitar and synth set over a dark, repetitive bassline, the obvious point of comparison would be the moodier moments of DatR’s fellow Irishmen Fontaines D.C., but there are shades of Ian Astbury of the Cult in the lead vocalist’s gothic roar, creating a captivating balance between majestic rock and indie impressionism. While the nights are still long and cold, grab your black overcoat and let ‘Ignite’ cast its irresistibly gloomy spell.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

ELLIS·D – Straitjacket Blues

If you like your nervy new wave half as much as I do, good news. On Straitjacket Blues, Brighton singer-songwriter ELLiS·D yelps his anxious musings in a voice so twitchy and itchy it almost makes David Byrne on the earliest Talking Heads records sound calm and measured, over a jankety backing that would give Devo cause to be proud.

When the guitar breaks from its dissonance into a run of glimmering, jangly notes, the relief is all the sweeter. It’s not easy to make the fevered panic of contemporary life sound this seductively catchy, but ELLiS·D has done it in style.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

FAKE EMPIRE – Hamburg In The Morning

As the winter days lengthen and lighten and the first daffodils make themselves shown, it’s about time for a song that captures the feeling of longing and optimism that so often accompanies approaching springtime. Enter Hamburg In The Morning to lead us triumphantly into the light.

From the Peter Hook-esque bass to the warm, understated vocal and the pale sunshine of the synths, Portsmouth’s Fake Empire use the trappings of the best 80s pop to serve their sentiment beautifully. It’s a soaring rush of hope tinged with sadness that feels as refreshing as a new dawn, whether in Hamburg or elsewhere.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

FLORIE NAMIR & FRANCK BIYONG – Silence Is Music

Silence Is Music might sound like something John Cage would say, but this jazzy number is characterised not by sparseness but by plush depth. As Florie Namir and Franck Biyong deploy a rainbow of sonic textures with subtle grace, you get the feeling that they really can hear music in everything. It’s a song you can settle right into.

Franck already has a stunning career behind him. He’s pioneered his own fusion genre of ‘Alternative Afro-Electro-Rock’, and having released an album every year since 2017 shows no sign of slowing down. Singer-songwriter and classical composer Florie, meanwhile, won the UK Songwriting Contest in February 2021 in the Jazz category. No surprise, then, that their collaboration should produce such a welcoming, elegant, and original result.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

FREYR – Lines In Your Palm

There are so many myths of creativity as the product of struggle that it can be hard to find songwriters who communicate contentment well. CSNY with their ultra-sentimental Our House springs to mind (hello, original Only Fools and Horses finale), but who else?

Enter Swedish-Icelandic singer-songwriter Freyr. ‘This life is pretty, like the lines in your palm,’ he sings in a voice of Sufjan Stevens-like softness, the sweetly old-fashioned romanticism of his words brought home by bright, lilting piano. Monumentally tender but with enough melancholic edging to avoid mawkishness, this is a warm hearthside of a song, and comfort listening at its best.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

KIM VEN – Why Didn’t You Call?

There’s a long and noble tradition of phone-themed pop, but songs along these lines tend to skew (often excellently) towards bubblegum. That’s not the case with Kim Ven’s quietly genre-blending Why Didn’t You Call?, which incorporates clever keypad-like electronic touches, earthy neo-soul vocals, and what sounds like a Mellotron into a stylish, inventive track which avoids easy pigeonholing.

Kim was born in Australia and is now living in London. Her debut EP Younger came out a mere five days ago at the time of writing. She may be at an early stage in her career, but going on the sophistication of this release, it looks as though she’s destined for great things.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

MAYA LAW – Mother Tongue

Speaking of soul, on Mother Tongue it’s something Maya Law has in spades. The sparseness of the backdrop makes the natural, comfortable intimacy of her vocals all the greater, placing them front and centre as they wind along smoothly and wear the equally soulful melody very well.

Maya describes the song as ‘an ode to the parts of myself that I’ve inherited from my mum’, saying ‘I think it’s quite common for people of mixed race to feel conflicted about their identity’. The lyrics of Mother Tongue investigate these feelings powerfully, and the song as a whole suggests that though some questions may not have an immediate resolution, beautiful things may be uncovered in the search that results.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

ROE – My Greatest Fear

Singer-songwriter ROE may be only one person, but the crashing pop-rock of My Greatest Fear give it the feel of a whole band. Her coolly deadpan, ennui-laced vocals create a classic contrast with the nicely angsty tone of her lyrics – just the recipe you want for a youthful, energetic anthem which doesn’t shy away from darkness.

ROE says of the song that ‘we recorded everything we needed to in a couple days. There was no question of what this song wanted to be and that made it really exciting’. The decisive urgency of this process shines through in the final product, marking ROE out as a clear-eyed new talent with a thrilling vision of her future.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

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.

Fake Empire photo by David Ellis