These Fresh Faves were picked by our readers over the weekend – and reviewed by Fresh On The Net’s Louise Toal It’s a bittersweet set of Fresh Fave reviews for me, because I’ll be slipping out the back door of FOTN HQ come the end of the month. After almost 6 years, the time feels right for me to break free from my fellow moddies. It’s been a wonderful journey and I can’t thank the team enough for the friendship and support along the way.

FOTN will be in great hands with Del now steering the ship, he has the passion, enthusiasm and energy to keep this brilliant platform afloat. A life without change would be a very dull thing.
Anyway, enough sentimentality, let’s celebrate this lovely bunch of tracks!

Born Again Virgin – Bird Of Prey

Born Again Virgin is London based artist Anna Roenigk, who’s originally from Austin, Texas. Her first self-titled EP, produced by Brian Beattie, was released independently in 2017. Since 2020, Roenigk has teamed up with French producer Emmanuelle LeCann.

‘Bird Of Prey’ was released on March 27th. It’s a very accomplished and feisty track that has a ‘screw you’ attitude which is really energising.

The single has an accompanying video on YouTube in which Tom Patrick Coley helms an intense comedy horror for Roenigk, which is obviously right up my street. It looks like it was incredibly fun to make, please do go and check it out.

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Burr Island – Later

We move along to something much softer now. Burr Island are a London-based folk duo consisting of best muckers, Tom England and Oskar Porter.

‘Later’, released on March 29th, via Left Foot Records, is their 6th single. Their debut album, due this year, was recorded at Kundalini Studios in Devon with Steve Craddock.
A stunning track that is reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel. The harmonies are heavenly and the strings and guitar work are effortlessly sublime.

The duo have received praise from the likes of Robert Palmer and Noel Gallagher and on the live scene, they’ve supported Paul Weller and Ocean Colour Scene. They also seem to be getting some airplay from the likes of BBC6Music, Radio X, BBC Radio 2 and BBC introducing. A very promising act indeed!

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Cable Street Collective – Sold on a Rhyme

Cable Street Collective are a London-based collective, who make rhythm-driven, African-influenced sunshine music that they call ‘carnival pop’. They’ve been tearing up festival stages at the likes of Glastonbury, Latitude and Electric Picnic (to name a few) with their catchy tunes and stomping beats for good few years now.

‘Sold On A Rhyme’ is an infectious track that lyrically plays with nursery rhymes in a satirical kind of style that is fun and original. It’s difficult to box their sound into a specific genre, the vocal is soulful and the use of brass adds a lovely jazzy element, which marries well with the beats.

They’ve gained support from both Tom Robinson (BBC6Music and BBC Introducing) and John Kennedy (Radio X).

When researching the band, I discovered that they take their name from the Battle of Cable Street, the anti-facist demonstration on 4th October 1936, which saw people of East London come together to deny Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts a chance to march. Just in case you needed a reason to love them any more!

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Camens – Lying Won’t Get You Anywhere

Stoke-On-Trent based Camens are a real, raw, and relatable alternative-Indie collective. The band channelled their frustrations from being broke and scrambling to afford studio time, into their music. They want to make their lyrics relatable to effortlessly create a sense of community.
‘Lying Won’t Get You Anywhere’ is a snappy little number that invaded my ears and had me singing on a loop this morning, before I had finished my first cup of coffee. It’s a lovely slice of indie-pop with very accomplished guitar work and outstanding drum action.

Camens are set to release their debut album ‘WORK/LIFE/BALANCE’ on May 3rd of this year.

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Grace Angelique – See You In Your Dreams

Grace Angelique is a singer-songwriter, originally from California but now based in England. She finds inspiration in writing heartfelt music that resonates with her audience.

‘See You In Your Dreams’ hasn’t only charmed me but its sassy, middle finger up attitude caught my daughter’s attention this morning too, she is drawn to sass like a magnet! A captivating pop song and I love Grace’s vocals. Grace takes influence from the likes of Orla Gartland, Arctic Monkeys and Wet Leg. She’s gained support from the likes of BBC Berkshire, BBC Solent and Cali 93.9 in Los Angeles.

I’ve been following Grace for a while on Instagram. She’s fun, stylish and colourful and I’m delighted to see her get a place in the Fresh Faves.

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Paulfcook (ft Machina X) – Who Will I Count The Stars With Now

Paulfcook writes, produces and remixes using acoustic, electronic and field recordings. He’s a member of the London/Liverpool group Skylon.

Paul has teamed up here with Annie of Machina X  to bring us a beautiful, melancholic piece of dreamy pop. ‘Who Will I Count The Stars With Now’ showcases Annie’s haunting vocal against Paul’s more acoustic backdrop, with a Spanish guitar at its core. It’s an inspired collaboration. There’s also a hypnotic little video to match over on YouTube.

Both Paulfcook and Machina X have had support from the likes of Tom Robinson (BBC6Music), Elizabeth Alker (Radio 3 Unclassified) and Exile FM’s Monday Night Ride Out and Trust The Doc Radio shows.

Paulfcook

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Machina X 

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Project Blackbird – Thank You For Last Time

Project Blackbird are five UK-based musicians: Vocalist Ming Nagel (originally from the USA), guitarist Alan Roberts, multi-instrumentalist Jamie Varley, drummer Eddie Dublin and multi-instrumentalist Jon Read (former trumpet player with The Specials).

“Thank You For Last Time” is the debut single from their forthcoming album ‘True Names’. As is always the case with Project Blackbird, and the reason I love them, is the variation of sounds in this track. Dubby pop with reggae and jazz elements and poetic lyrics. This is inspired by a trip to Iceland and a poem Ming wrote while she was there. Both a love letter to Iceland but looking deeper into the concept of time and the process of ageing.

It’s a splendid work of art and I can’t wait to get the new record on my shelf.

Project Blackbird have gained support from Tom Robinson (BBC6Music) and Exile FM’s Trust The Doc radio show.

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ROE- Cinema

ROE describes herself as an alt-pop weirdo from Derry, NI. ‘Cinema’ is her first release in over a year, it’s lovely to see her back again, and as powerful as ever.

This track was written after ROE and her partner were on their way to see a film one night, and witnessed an incident on the bridge in Derry, an all too familiar occurrence here in NI, even to this day. It’s a poignant song about the history and ongoing struggles of her home city. The vocal is flawless and the line “the city’s real pretty if you don’t look too hard” packs a proper punch.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing ROE live when she supported Tom Robinson here in Belfast a few years ago. She’s a mesmerising and talented artist and it’s easy to see why Tom’s been a big supporter of her work over the years.

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TC & The Groove Family – Stand Strong

TC & The Groove Family are a 10 piece collective, whose music celebrates the coming together of cultures and the sense of community that music can provide for everyone. They were originally formed in Leeds and are fronted by Sheffield wordsmith, Franz Von.

‘Stand Strong’ is the first release from the band’s forthcoming EP. It’s an empowering and motivating track that has elements of dub, jazz, funk and perhaps even some ska. The sax solo is magnificent.

TC & The Groove Family are well known on the festival circuit, having played the likes of Glastonbury, Greenman, We Out Here and Kendal Calling, They have also caught the attention of Jamz Supernova and Craig Charles (BBC6Music) and BBC Introducing Yorkshire.

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Wychbury – Geordie

Wychbury hail from Stourbridge, West Midlands with Che Bradley on guitar and Rhiannon Kenny-McGrath on vocals and whose musical partnership spans over a decade.

‘Geordie’ was released on April 5th and it’s the duo’s own arrangement and interpretation of a folk song that dates back at least 300 years. It tells us a story of a woman’s fight to save her husband from execution, the only crime he committed was stealing from a king so he was able to feed his family. A song highlighting the inequalities between rich and poor.

I love the arrangement of the track, it’s tender, raw and not over-produced, which in itself is refreshing.

Wychbury have played some of the country’s most renowned festivals, including multiple appearances at Glastonbury.

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PS from Del: If you want to submit a track for The Songbird Sessions please send an audio file and a bio to my email Please make sure it’s a CLEAN radio edit. Thankyou!

Del