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

Hey everyone, welcome to the faves batch 536. There are two more to come before we close for the summer. As always thank you all for your support in keeping this resource going.

If you want to submit a track for my radio show The Songbird Sessions on Islington Radio you’re more than welcome to send an audio file and bio to del.owusu@gmail.com – clean radio edits only!

Onto the faves!

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

Let’s go.

CELIA GRACE – Spider Song

This starts off really gently, just an a cappella section at the beginning which is then joined by synth and piano, but don’t let that make you think it’s a ballad. It’s far from it – there’s a roar of distorted guitar before it just idles. This has a driving beat to it but that’s not obvious until when the drums come in at 0:29. The thing I like about this song is how descriptive the lyrics are. Celia Grace sings about being like a spider in a glass, having to fight past but then she sings about how she wants to be held like a child, being happy, being held like a puppy. It’s the way us humans want to be treated and she’s not afraid to sing it.

All in all a stunning song with great lyrics to match.

Celia Grace is from Hartlepool and having looked at her socials it says she’s currently battling cancer. I think I speak for the team and indeed the FOTN community when I say I wish her well.

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DEBRISON – Slow Down

This is an instrumental that’s kind of dark, I like the synths that are used here, this hints at an 80s influence, especially in the chords. The drums go at a fast pace too, which makes me wonder what it would sound like with a drum and bass twist. I’ve been listening to a bit of Jean-Michel Jarre recently, and I get that kind of vibe from this.

My favourite part of this is the drums for sure but I think it’s also the way that the arrangement is put together. While it’s mainly chord-based with no melody to speak of, it’s catchy. I love the breakdowns within the arrangement to to show the different elements. It’s definitely not thrown together for the sake of it!

DEBRISON is an independent musician who writes instrumental music at the intersection of several musical styles. He grew up in a small town drawing graffiti and listening to The Prodigy amongst other things! I respect that.

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DUTCH CRIMINAL RECORD – Baby Blue

This has such a psychedelic feel to it, especially thanks to the jangly guitars and the laid-back vocals. First this begins with a broken beat but all falls into place when the guitars, bass and synth come in.

This has a poetic feel in the lyrics and this is evidenced by my favourite part of the song. There’s a spoken word section [from writer Alan Watts] that sounds like a BBC radio announcer from the 1950s:

It’s a long monologue and it made me think about life, love and the universe. It also made me contemplate a rather strange question: Why do we say fall in love instead of rise in love? These are the things that keep me up at night. But the line that stood out to me was this:

“..So we come to the strange conclusion that in madness lies sanity.”

Well.

That’s that.

Dutch Criminal Record are from Chichester and describe themselves as a south coast indie surf band. It definitely fits!

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LLINOS EMANUEL – Golden

This week’s inbox was full of gems and this was one of them. Where do I start? This is the kind of song you’d put on late at night, when you’re just chilling with someone you love, that comfortable silence when you don’t need to say anything, just let the music and the lyrics do the work.

But let’s not forget how good the music is on this, the bluesy guitar, the music arrangement coming out of the Motown playbook in 6/8 time, a melody laced with harmonies that give you boosegumps.

Yes.

I said boosegumps.

Autocorrect, it’s a word, stop trying to change it!

Anyway, Llinos wants to be held until the morning, it’s a love song and connects with Celia Grace lyrically in this way, but musically it’s on a different part of the spectrum. This calls on gospel flavours in the harmonies, as well as jazz, and brings them together in such a gentle way. This could easily be on of my favourite submissions of the year.

In fact…

Yep.

This is my track of the week.

Llinos Emanuel [llee-noss] is from Wales and has lent her voice to the likes of Jacob Collier, Tom Odell, and Paris Paloma, and is now stepping out into the spotlight.

Jacob Collier?

*Nods in approval*.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

LOA – Hard Down Low

This next one is slow and based around piano and vocals, but very atmospheric. It’s very moody with no harmonies, as Rick Leigh’s piano playing and Genevieve Dawson’s vocals blend together effortlessly over a music arrangement that’s kept really simple. It’s a beauty of a track calling on folk influences, especially Celtic undertones.

This song encourages you to push through. It’s a song of encouragement:

“Hard down low,
Keep your head down,
Try to keep going even though you don’t know the distance.”

That really spoke to me.

Having looked up what the song means, it’s a hymn to resilience and self-compassion written during the pandemic.

There are some really thought-provoking tracks in the Faves this week aren’t there???

From their Spotify bio:

Loa is a collaboration between Rick Leigh and Genevieve Dawson, marking a new beginning in their long musical partnership.
Bringing together Rick’s intricate piano harmony with Genevieve’s distinctive warmth, Loa bridges the space between Nils Frahm and Adrianne Lenker, and calls up a songwriting inheritance from Joni Mitchell to James Blake.

Working with producer and pianist Sam Beste (aka the Vernon Spring) Loa have created a soundworld that is rich with colour and depth, revealing itself slowly, as though looking at a long exposure photograph.

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MANISOL – Calling Down The Moon

Now this is a fun listen! I love the soundtrack quality of this, there are noises coming at you! I wonder if this is influenced by “Revolution #9” by any chance? Then again that didn’t have much of a structure whereas this does. You’ve got the heavy fast breathing at the beginning and the end to bracket it but then there are synth sounds, manic laugher, then unexpectedly there’s a drum solo! Add to this this some percussion – congas, cabasas, and vocals harmonising. It’s very unnerving, but this gives you the scope of what we get in the inbox every week. It’s very different, and the FOTN team like different.

In fact…

Let me give this one my badge for one to watch.

ManiSol consist of Manuel Classic and Cian, who’s the drummer on this recording. They’re very active in terms of projects and bands, but their mission statement simply says:

Embracing surrender to the duality of existence.

Quite.

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PORTEOUS – Fake ID

Now this is a fun listen! I love the soundtrack quality of this, there are noises coming at you! I wonder if this is influenced by “Revolution #9” by any chance? Then again that didn’t have much of a structure whereas this does. You’ve got the heavy fast breathing at the beginning and the end to bracket it but then there are synth sounds, manic laugher, then unexpectedly there’s a drum solo! Add to this this some percussion – congas, cabasas, and vocals harmonising. It’s very unnerving, but this gives you the scope of what we get in the inbox every week. It’s very different, and the FOTN team like different.

In fact…

Let me give this one my badge for one to watch.

Two badges for one to watch in the faves?

These are rare.

Wear them well.

ManiSol consist of Manuel Classic and Cian, who’s the drummer on this recording. They’re very active in terms of projects and bands, but their mission statement simply says:

Embracing surrender to the duality of existence.

Quite.

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RICHARD DAVIES – Chase In Manhattan

Right! Time for some sophisticated jazz now. This one is from Richard Davies. I’ve known him a long time through Twitter, and he’s been reviewed for my site by my jazz correspondent (that sounds so fancy!) Sammy Stein, but he’s been on my radar since way before then.

Richard brings his sax to bear on this track which sounds like the opposite of what the title suggests – yes, you could imagine this being on a film or TV soundtrack, but the pace doesn’t suit a chase scene. So I reckon he’s injecting a bit of his humour here, or he’s seeing something that I can’t. But such is the mind of an artist you don’t feel their experience. You see or hear it through their eyes.

This is based around a double bass, piano, and drums with brushes and horns. This is gentle, and transports you back to the 1950s with a bit of film noir going on. You could imagine the femme fatale, the crooked cop, the anti-hero and the gangster villain of the piece sitting in a smoke-filled bar and it’s a moment frozen in time before things really kick off.

What a tune!

Richard Davies is a UK saxophonist experimenting with cinematic sounds and marrying jazz, blues, the electronic and ambient styles. This is from his new album “A Detective For Sale” available now.

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SEOUL METRO – SAD!

Another track that looks back on life when it was simpler! In the lyrics Seoul Metro references hopping fences into neighbours’ gardens when your whole world was your friends – very Goonies/Stand By Me in the sense of friends who could have something that could last for ever but then reality bites and life gets in the way. Hence why the cloud makes you feel sad.

This is over a great indie pop song that has 90s tones with a 21st century flavour. I particularly like the guitar riff and the overall tone of it – it’s clean but has a slight spring-like tone too. The whole song is based around two chords and sometimes that’s all you need. Fantastic tune.

MORE!

Seoul Metro is the solo project of Manchester-based songwriter and producer Chris Gibson. He has a new year’s resolution: starting in February, on the first of every month in 2024, he will release a new song. By the end of the year, the 11 songs will slot together with 2023 single Anywhere to make Seoul Metro’s debut album.

I can’t remember my resolutions for this year…

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

THE YOUTH PLAY – If We Just Ever

This is not a song nor a public announcement! The Youth Play are here to make amends. This is how they introduce this song, and it’s done so well.

A big indie rock track to close the week’s Faves, it’s fast-paced, and there’s no stopping it, the drums are double time over a wall of sound thanks to roaring guitars. The song for the most part is a spoken word commentary but then you’ve also got the chorus where the words “if we just ever were” are sung.

This song is very in your face, and has brief points where it just stops for you to catch your breath before going at it again. This song came out on top of the Listening Post this week and deservedly so.

Chef’s kiss!

The Youth Play are an emerging alternative band from London blending shoegaze and post-punk.

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PS from Del: 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 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.