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.

Hey everyone! First of all, I have to say thank you so much for the support of mine and Marina’s track, 1974, I was mind blown as to how well received it was. Sitting on both sides of the table as a reviewer and an artist I get to see how it is being heard, and it can be a pain, but you all showed much love and I appreciate you all for it. We also got on the BBC Introducing Mixtape thanks to Tom. I was at work when the message came through and I screamed in my boss’s face. Let’s just say I had a bounce in my step the whole day. Still grinning. 

Thirdly, this week’s Faves are dedicated to Atta. When I write reviews my North Star is to make the reader want to find out more about the artists, encourage them to hear what I hear and feel what I feel. The goosebumps, the shouty moments, the laughter, the ugly crying. And Lord knows I’ve felt all of these things in my four years as a moderator for FOTN. 

He will never get to share those moments because life is that cruel. But for me he will always be in my mind when I hear something that blows me away. How would he react to it? 

Rest in peace Atta. 

As always if you ever want to be featured on my show for Islington Radio please drop me an email at del.owusu@gmail.com with a bio and audio file, and I’ll consider it for the show. All genres welcome! 

To the reviews!

I have tea. 
My headphones are charged. 
I have toast. 
Keys in the ignition. 
Four lit and in the green.

Let’s go.

AMELIA COBURN – Sleepy Town

In a world where country music has seen a resurgence thanks to Queen Bey this is a welcome flavour in the Faves! It’s acoustic, and combines country with a little bit of folk. 

Can I imagine people doing a bit of line dancing to it? 

Of course! 

The thing that stands out for me is the guitar riff — it must hurt playing that! 

Also, there’s a bit of Portuguese thrown in there, just for good measure. 

I like the breakdown at 2:39, just drums and Amelia’s vocals. 

This track’s a winner!

Amelia Coburn is an artist from Middlesbrough, she describes herself as light and dark.  From tales of vengeful widows and moonlit stream-of-consciousness to songs filled with whimsical romance, she has a knack for making the unusual sound timeless. 

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

ANNIE DRESSNER – Dance We Do

Annie Dressner is back with a track that sounds summery and breezy, but at the same time speaks of having to fight the same old battle of a relationship that’s run its course. It’s almost like a confessional, the first line just says “It’s like you want me gone.” It hits hard, that kind of delivery in lyrics.

You’re going through the same old motions and it’s the same old routine, but this song is all about reaching the breaking point – there are red flags being pointed out, such is the complexity of being in a relationship breaking down. 

Instrumental-wise the guitars have a delightful twang to them, and I’m sure that’s a vintage organ sound in the background! At 1:55 the muted guitar and Annie’s vocal dropping back to a whisper that’s my favourite part of the song! 

Annie is an artist from New York now living in Cambridge. She and I have history – I interviewed her a few years ago and we share a love for NYC bagels. She also likes Oreo cookies. Oh that’s a spoiler alert… 

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

BROKEN DOWN GOLF CART – 5 Years Old

To the land of Beatles and Brookside we go with this next one, and it’s… 

Deliciously strange. 

I like deliciously strange. 

There are transitions galore, it moves through different stages, the downtempo beginning, low key guitars along with the vocals swelling through phasing. You’d think it goes into a full fast tempo given where it starts, but it goes into a slow tempo from 0:41. For the majority of the song it’s instrumental, but the lyrics speak of feeling five years old when your body is getting cold.

Is this a reference to not wanting to grow up? 

Possibly. 

Do we have to?

The mix on this is beautiful, the vocals are panning around me and it just works so well. Also believe me when I say the banshee screams don’t go unnoticed! This track is beautifully moody and well put together!

Broken Down Golf Cart describe themselves as spacey grunge and fuzzy weird love. Based in Liverpool, UK. Their email states that broken down golf cart sucks. 

They don’t.

Linktree | Instagram | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

DEATH OF THE HIGH STREET – Mental Wealth

This song is so full of proper rock and roll energy! Death Of The High Street launch into this with power riffs and stops and starts!

This is the reason why I like the song, it’s given the space to breathe with the lyrics delivering a very important message. Whether you’re jumping about in the moshpit or playing air guitar in the kitchen it makes you think of your mental well being, but we will come back to that in a second. 

The stops and starts are reminiscent of Chuck Berry’s No Particular Place To Go – see the rock n roll connection? Link that with the stuttering from The Who’s My Generation, then you have the elements of early punk – the influences are all there. 

All in all – a banger.

This is what they had to say about it: 

“Mental Wealth is a personal foray into the world of mental illness and the feeling of being lost in a world that’s not concerned with you. This track delivers the usual DOTHS punch in the face – heavy drums, loud bass, punk guitars and an honest and emotional lyrical delivery. It’s a lyrical journey exploring the delicate state of one’s mind, of the larger-than-life character suffering silently in their own head. The need to talk and inability to do so.”

“Death Of The High Street (D.O.T.H.S) are a four-piece punk/indie band from the Midlands. Formed in 2020 during the UK lockdown, their unique brand of bass driven, lyrically intriguing rock boasts catchy riffs and powerful drum beats making for an energetic and powerful live show.”

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

DUBWISER – Port Of Spain (Vocal)

This is a great reggae track! 

Was that a sneaky tape start at the beginning, slightly sped up? 

Maybe! 

This is full of sunshine, and perfectly timed as we ease into longer days. It’s got that classic one drop groove, and built around that is a subby bass you feel in your belly — I reckon that’s a modified 808 kick. Marry that up with a piano playing chops – one thing I like about the piano is that whoever is playing is also making use of the low end, not just as a percussion instrument but to hold down the lower frequency too. Also the Fender Rhodes and Hammond organ in there too! 

Perfect. 

So they get my chef’s kiss. 

According to their bio: Dubwiser are a UK-based Dub, Roots, Reggae band to make you smile plenty!

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Bandcamp

HERE’S THE STEEPLE – This Machine Builds Fascists

From top to bottom this song just… 

Hits. 

It combines a wall of sound of horns – very jazzy in arrangement even though this is listed as an alternative folk song, proof that there’s more than that at play here! My favourite part is the instrumental passage from 2:59, which brings everything to a beautiful conclusion! 

Now the lyrics are curious, the machine that’s being referred to here could be any number of things. Media in all its current forms, you don’t know, but it’s definitely thought provoking! 

Great work!

Here’s The Steeple is the musical handle of Dan Walters. Moving to Huddersfield in 2011, Dan became a mainstay of the local music scene with a reputation for powerful performances and rich, soulful vocals.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

OTALA – Commedia

Another track that’s got a real surreal feel to it! Half spoken word, half sung over a soundtrack that’s almost prog rock in vibe, very experimental! I really appreciate it because this again shows a celebration of what will float our collective boat at FOTN! 

So many instruments are at play here,  there’s a sax, keyboards, bass, guitar that are not following a specific pattern, but it all seems to come together so well. What a composition! 

Otala are a band from Leeds, they seem to be very busy with live dates and looking at their live videos… 

Well. 

I’m impressed. 

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

ROSIE FRATER-TAYLOR – Give & Take

This right here is my track of the week. Rosie Frater-Taylor absolutely KILLS on the guitar! 

This is the opening track from her latest album, I’ve been following her journey for quite a while now, and I’ve been playing this track on the show since it came out. 

Why? 

Just listen to that Latin groove! 

Then she brings in a little bit of distortion to tease us, meaning there’s a bit of a rock leaning, but she pulls it back with some scat vocals…. 

This for me is probably one of the strongest tracks I’ve heard this year, and we are only in March! 

I double dare you to go listen to the entire album — Rosie does NOT disappoint!

3:47… that’s the mark… that’s where your brain will melt!

Lord…

Rosie is a singer songwriter and virtuoso guitarist that’s been on my radar a long time. She’s a London musician who actually started out on drums (totally obvious on this track of course…), and her parents are both musicians, so it was natural for her to go into the family business. 

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

THE JOJO MAN BAND – Word Of Love

It’s been a while since The Jojo Man Band were in the Faves, but they’re back with a downtempo track featuring Nick Woodgate’s tremolo laden guitar, an organ, and of course his trademark processed vocals – it’s instantly recognisable as their sound! 

It’s psychedelic, very 60s where the chord progressions are concerned, the drum beat is packed full of toms at one point, as well as going to the ride cymbals to break it up, this is spot-on for musical arrangement! 

My favourite part comes in at 1:54 — great guitar work here, it fits so well with what’s happening within the song. It’s not thrown together haphazardly, and that’s what really stands out for me. 

Good to have you back on the faves Nick! 

The Jojo Man Band is the alias of Nick Woodgate, an artist who’s constantly creating — in fact I don’t know when he’s not! He’s got some impressive credits to his name; he comes from a long line of musicians, his brother is Woody Woodgate of Madness, and he’s written songs for them in the past! 

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

TONY NJOKU – La Ruée

Even though Tony Njoku is listed as an electronic musician, this has quite a neo classical feel to it, muted piano – could this be una corda at work here? 

The arpeggios are beautifully played – I feel like I should practice these more! 

He also uses percussion elements to lift the track to new high heights, and they’re pitched too, so I’m guessing this is a sample, and then he played like the piano part. 

For me sometimes you have to think outside the box to come up with something really innovative – and Tony’s really inspired me. 

Una corda? Sounds like a plan.

He is my one to watch. 
 
So who’s Tony Njoku?

“Tony is a British-Nigerian electronic music producer and songwriter from London. Raised in between Lagos and London the twenty-three year old has always been a frequent globetrotter with the breadth of his travels reflected in his music. His self-penned and produced songs have been described as ‘strikingly evocative soundscapes, managing to make even the shortest pop songs sound like epic adventures.’”

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | 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.

Here’s The Steeple photo by PhotoManic Photography