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

Welcome back everyone to the first reviews of 2024! Thanks to everyone who submitted last week, what a great inbox! As always if you ever want to submit a track for my show you can do so by dropping me an email to del.owusu@gmail.com with a bio and MP3 telling me about yourself. All genres welcome but please only clean radio edits! Thanks folks.

Welcome to our new moderator Tony Hardy by the way!

So. To the reviews.

Tea? Oui.
Headphones charged? Si.
Keys in the ignition? Hai.
Four lit and in the green.

Let’s go.

CYNTHIA’S PERISCOPE – Broken Window

This hits the ground running with a hard hitting drum beat, backed up with a subby 808 bass… it’s pure filth.

I like filth.

Add to this mix a bit of bleeps and boops and unconventional vocals then you get the end result. For me I reckon this is the kind of thing that Gary Numan would be jealous of, the arpeggiated synth running through plus the lead synth doing weird things is really what makes the track, it’s definitely catchy! Could I take Cynthia’s Periscope back to TOTP in the DeLorean with some sci-fi suits circa 1981 and get away with it?

Yes, I’m pretty sure I can.

Rhodes? Where we’re going we don’t need Rhodes.

There’s none on this, I just wanted to use a nerdy reference and a joke in there.

Sorry Steve.

The synth solo at 3:28 is octaved and layered so it stands out. More punch! No thinness to it. Great job!

“Cynthia’s Periscope was made in a perti dish in 2014 out of a lumpy elixir of folktronica, techno, post punk and lo-fi pop.”

Is perti a typo? PETRI dish maybe? It would make a great name for a band though!

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

ELLIE BLEACH – Whole Lotta Nothing

Ellie Bleach sings the first two notes acapella, over a track that has a bit of a swing to it. It’s got piano, bass, drums and a sax solo. What confused me for a second was that when the sax came in it sounded a bit like “Misty”. It’s a gorgeous solo, where the song is a bit melancholy in melody, the sax gives it a bit of brightness! My favourite part is when the strings come in at 2:59 for the middle eight where there are triplets being played. This song’s arrangement is brilliant!

This song deserves to be on the Faves, well done Ellie.

“Ellie Bleach narrates a world of peculiar characters. With a penchant for cinematic storytelling, her wry wit and esoteric lyrical style harbours a biting cynicism that examines the strange eccentricities of modern life.”

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

FLAKEBELLY – In Parks Of Tall Trees

To the Outer Hebrides we go with this next one and… it’s explosive!

The drums come in loud to begin with — kick, snare and ride cymbal going at quite a speed, but that’s because Flakebelly is rapid fire with his rap over it. I don’t think this would work if it was slower. I like the chord progression, it’s a reversed piano, very clever! I get the feeling it’s the chords played in the “correct” sequence, but the sound has been processed. I could be wrong!

You could imagine this having a Baz Luhrmann-style video for it, especially with the surreal imagery in the lyrics.

I have been sent this for the show, so I’m happy to play this!

I also like his bio:

“Found underneath a gooseberry bush, some time past. grown crooked-tree and raggydoll. Now a purveyor of pomes and posey, liking nothing more than to be thumbing his Flaming Jangle Music all hours.”

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

KATIE KEDDIE – Last Weekend

This track is gorgeous. It starts off with an analogue drum machine, and is married up with acoustic guitars and what I’m assuming to be a banjo! Katie Keddie’s vocals are husky and quiet — perfect to calm the soul on a cold post-stormy Monday morning. If it’s not a banjo, I’m a big fan of that guitar tone! My favourite part of this song is the chorus. Overall, it’s very chilled and makes me want to explore Katie’s work. There are so many layers here, from the transition of analogue to acoustic sounding drums which went past me and made me rewind the track. It’s a genuine sign of someone taking interest!

More please!

“Katie Keddie is a singer-songwriter from Nottingham. Her delicate, emotive indie-folk sound first caught attention back in 2019 when she released her first single, Eighteen.”

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

LEARN TO SURF – Coming Good

Now this track is retro, and I love it! It reminds me of CSNY with electric guitars, and the comparison is apt as this is an interstellar band of sorts. I hate the phrase “supergroup”. The harmonies are sweet on this, and kind of reminds me of “Woodstock”, the Matthews Southern Comfort version, but without the close harmonies. I’ve known Found Instruments for quite a while, and when he sent me this for the show, I was sold on it.

I absolutely love that song!

This band are my one to watch.

Maybe it’s the romantic in me, but I love music that’s been made by old friends, and these guys do it so well.

Learn to Surf is a new band of old friends (namely James Baldwin, Jim Coburn, Joe Reeves and Jack Titcombe) who have played with each other in various projects and combinations since their teens (Electric Furs, Stranger Stranger, Jack Joseph Band, Found Instruments).

The band is now working on a full length album, and has further releases planned for the early part of 2024.

Linktree | Instagram

OLIVER REES – No Way

This track had my attention in the inbox from the get go. It’s got that dirty funk in the beat, add to that a bit of wah in the guitars et voila.

This is an ode to funk and I am here for it! Oliver Rees switches between rapping and singing so easily on this, at 1:00 is where it happens. This kind of reminds me a bit of a George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic influence, listen out for the bass too. It’s elasticated, you could imagine Meshell Ndegeocello freaking out over it! Nice and lazy groove.

So… this is my track of the week.

Naturally.

“Oliver Rees is a fusion guitarist, based in Leeds, U.K. – His sound is typically defined by: conscious lyricism, laid over predominantly boom-bap style beats, with Soul and Jazz sampling, often accompanied by guitar licks, inspired by the likes of; Steve Vai, Jimi Hendrix and Joe Pass.”

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

POPPY PRESCOTT – Afternoons

This song by Poppy Prescott has so much charm… it’s that chorus. Is this about a sibling? It’s a gorgeous song that makes you feel wistful about the past and growing up. Lyrics referring to being in the back of your dad’s car, hiding cigarettes, and it draws on her ability to tell a story within a song. I don’t know what it is, but this song just has this thing where it takes you back to a time and place you’ve forgotten about. I know I’ve been looking back on things retrospectively recently and there are songs that trigger that for me. I can now add this to the list.

“Hastings born singer-songwriter Poppy Prescott released her debut EP Grand Gestures in July 2022. She draws any crowd to silence with her soft soulful vocals and folk-style storytelling.”

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

THE CRAYON SET – Elvis Is Alive

This is billed as the song the mainstream media doesn’t want you to hear.

Why?

Well, the lyrics say this:

“The stars are not light
The sky is really blue
The Earth is not round
There’s a man on the moon.”

“The ozone is fine
The sea won’t ever rise
Elvis is alive
And you are still mine.”

“I don’t believe what you tell me
I don’t believe that it’s true
I’ve no time for your nonsense
You’ll be back home soon.”

So it’s like a game of two truths and a lie, which is real? I like that. Is the person the song is aimed at likely to come back? Well, funnily enough there’s a man who works in the chip shop who swears he’s Elvis, so stranger things have happened.

I like the string arrangement on this, really moody!

The Crayon Set are:

Robert Baker – Vocals, Guitars, Synths
Kate Dineen – Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Percussion
George Guilfoyle – Bass, Double Bass, Guitars, Vocals
Phil Casey – Drums, Percussion
Finn O’Reilly – Guitars, Bass, Keys, Vocals

They are an indie pop pop band from Ireland – I’m familiar with Kate as she sent me her track “Doomscrolling” last week, this band has a skill for great lyrics and finely crafted songs in my opinion.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

THE TRUSTED – Lost Soul

Great piece of indie rock here! Big crunchy guitars, hard drums being laid down and if you let it slip by you’ll miss the synth chords running underneath. It becomes really apparent at 0:53, I thought I caught the fuzz of it in the first few bars but thought it might just be the guitars kind of fading into the background, but I’m glad I paid attention, it gives the song that well rounded edge. One of my favourite parts of the song is at 2:43 with the guitar solo running counterpoint to the vocals — this is just epic indie rock at its best! If you’re not imagining this at a festival with everyone jumping and the dolly panning over the audience then…

I don’t know what to tell you.

The Trusted are a band whose roots started at school, they are from Southend and they say they make indie music for the heart mind and soul. This is from their new EP Lost Soul.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

TREVAS – Thrice Lament

To close out the first Fresh Faves of 2024 we have a gentle instrumental on piano, with a bit of delay on it. It’s sparse and very relaxing — this is very much a meditative piece. Being someone that has a terrible time trying to get to sleep I might actually use this to see if it works.

Why? Well, Trevas has the distinction of having his music accompany the British Isles shipping forecast. I knew this was a thing, but I didn’t know they had music to accompany it!

This track has me all chilled out, and after the madness of the weather yesterday, you need this…

Trevas is an electronic artist based in SE London. Producing eclectic, instrumental music from a mix of genre. Works have been played on BBC Introducing, notably The Sleeping Forecast (gentle music accompanying the British Isles shipping forecast).

Brilliant.

Linktree | Twitter/X

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.