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.

Hi everyone, it’s the penultimate faves of 2024! Thankyou to everyone who’s submitted a track this year we really appreciate you, and thanks once again for your support of FOTN since I took over. I would also like to thank my team of mods, it’s not easy listening to up to 200 new tracks a week but you all manage it and do an excellent job creating a listening post week on week. As always, if you have a track you’d like me to consider for my show on Islington Radio send me an audio file with a bio to del.owusu@gmail.com – clean radio edits only! Thanks folks.

On to the reviews.

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

Let’s go.

CALL ME FLO – Weirdo

This is a song I can relate to! I’m a weirdo, but then to be creative you have to be a little bit weird.

Right?

This is a great acoustic number, and there’s a cajon on this to lay down the rhythm, Michelle Lewis’s voice comes in on top accompanied by both electric and acoustic guitar. I like the way that this is put together because where you think it’s just four chords, it’s not she adds some chords in the breakdown at 1:58 that give it a bit of a bluesy feel.

You can tell she loves her percussion because there are shakers and a tambourine thrown in for good measure. There isn’t enough percussion in music nowadays, I am a big fan!

Who’s Call Me Flo then? Well that’s the alias of Michelle Lewis, a singer songwriter from Langstone in Hampshire, she’s also a rugby player. Apparently she’s got a song called “Call Me Susan” which is a local favourite – I wonder if that’s a reference to Whitney Houston not liking being called that.

I also wonder if anyone else will get the reference immediately.

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CRYER MYA – Ebb & Flow

Second time for Cryer Mya on the faves this year in just over 90 days! Well done. This next one has a bit of a psychedelic feel to it, and I like that vibe. It’s got a leaning towards 1970s singer songwriter harmonies and that’s what sold it to me, this song is providing a very pleasant experience for me in my earphones!

I like the poetry of the lyrics:

All in prayer to see the homeland,
Where my skin first met sun,
Another time, body free, ebb and flow through the motion.

What a lyric!

Everything fits well within the whole song, the mix of the drums are soft and fits beautifully around the general vibe of the song. The ride cymbal every so often is a nice touch!

Cryer Mya is the moniker of South London songwriter, Rishi Saluja. The project emerged in 2024 as he began writing, producing and capturing new songs in his bedroom. The project’s first outing was at Glastonbury 2024!

WOW!

Big year then!

This is from Cryer Mya’s EP of the same name which came out in November.

I’m impressed.

I hope to hear more from Cryer Mya in 2025.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

FLOOD – Not An Enemy

I like the way this starts, it’s a very subtle fade up. It could also be the result of an automated pass filter but I’m not sure! Either way, I like what Flood has done here. This is an indie track, great sounding great sounding providing a strong backbeat along with the drums. There’s a synth lead added for good measure, which gives it a great 90s indie rock feel.

Initially you think it’s a ballad at the beginning but then when everything comes in it changes your perception – this is well arranged!

But then, this is Flood.

So who’s Flood?

Well, Ged Flood to give him his proper title is a singer songwriter who says that his music upbringing was varied and being of Irish descent, his family played a lot of traditional stuff. He’s very interested in home recording, and his bio gives a detailed background about how he likes to explore that. He’s also part of the 7 piece Misshaped Pearls who have had some love from Tom Robinson, as well as Roots And Fusion magazine among others.

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FRITILLARIES – Little Sparrow

Time for a bit of folk, and this one is a track by singer songwriter Hannah Pawson, aka Fritillaries. This song is completely stripped back save for a guitar, banjo and strings. The strings give the song an emotional lift already provided by Hannah’s voice, the cello on this is what caught my attention immediately as well as the way the banjo is being played.

I like how the strings drop out so they don’t overpower Hannah’s voice my favourite part of the song comes in at 0:47 it just left me with a smile on my face because of the way the strings are arranged. I need more of this in my life.

This is the closing track on her EP called “Thank God I Have The Songs”., a six track project that was released back in June this year.

She’s my one to watch.

Fritallaries is Hannah Pawson, singer songwriter from Bristol, her name is taken from the snake’s head fritillary a flower of rebirth and hope.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

PROJECT BLACKBIRD – Listen

To Leicester we go, and this is a track from FOTN Live Day 2 closers Project Blackbird! This is a slice of laidback jazz and blues. Ming’s vocals sitting between spoken word and singing over a track that grooves! There’s a trumpet solo provided by Jon Read as a counterpoint, and a deliciously clean guitar riff, as well as a great guitar solo to round it off.

The drums provide a great groove along with the bassline, it’s very hypnotic, and you have that feeling of being in an after hours club with this. I love the sound effects from scratching to sampled drums being pitched down to break it up. This is solid in every single way!

The lyrics cast a summer’s day image:

“Sun and shadow make a double,
Beyond two sway becomes a a rhapsody in new,
I close my eyes to the bright blue,
In the strobe behind my eyes it’s a solo show,
All I see is you.”

I want those hot summer days back!

I’ve actually featured Project Blackbird’s tracks on my show this year, and I’ve had a sneak preview of the new album, you may want to check it out.

You will not be disappointed.

They get my chef’s kiss.

Project Blackbird are a quintet from Leicester, who have bragging rights like having toured with Fun Lovin’ Criminals, and Jon having played with The Specials among other things.

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

ROSIE MILES – How Did We Get This Far?

What I like about this song is that you’re tricked into thinking that there’s an issue with the recording. There’s a burst of static at the beginning making you think that the audio wasn’t bounced out correctly, and that whoever submitted this track made a really poor choice in submitting it.

No.

This is actually deliberate.

I like that.

How do I know this?

Well, it’s all in the first verse!

“We wave off the city and head for the coast,
We tried to pack light, but there’s too much to
hold,
We pour out a coffee and thank God for the radio.”

Let me tell you a little story – way back in the day, we didn’t have digital radio where it was all clean sounding, it was all about using AM/FM radio – you had to tune the controls on your radio, so frequencies like 96.9 and 95.8 were the digits of choice.

A prize for anyone who can name those stations.

Anyway, this track is gorgeous, even though it messed with my brain a little as I couldn’t believe what I was hearing initially but I have to applaud that. I like it when artists think outside of the box!

Rosie Miles is an alt-folk singer songwriter who’s inspired by Joni Mitchell, Madison Cunningham and Laura Marling. She has a quote on her Soundcloud from Tom who says that she’s a gifted and charismatic songwriter.

He’s not kidding.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X

SINGLE AUDIO CHANNEL – Houston

To the indie rock end of the spectrum we go with this next one, and it’s packed full of jangly guitars. There’s a lot to like about this one, especially since it name checks the famous words of the Apollo 13 mission “Houston we have a problem”.

This song talks about not fitting in, I like the way that this is a bit of a conversation where Houston are talking to the hero in the song, they are in a perpetual state of daydreaming which is something that’s been going on since childhood. They lyrics in the bridge say:

“Single Audio Channel, this is Houston, what’s the problem?”

Single Audio Channel obligingly replies with “I just don’t fit in”, while Houston rattles off a bunch of diagnoses, but never really a solution…

I think that Single Audio channel has caught the mood perfectly with this song, I can see a lot of people relating to this.

But then creatives are round pegs that don’t fit into square holes are they?

I know.

I butchered the saying.

Single Audio Channel is an indie band from Bath who specialise in jangly guitars and catchy tunes.

Rock n Roll.

Official | Instagram | Facebook

SKINNYBOY TUNES FEATURING MILSKY – Waves

Well! What can I say about this track? This is a straight up and down jazz track, slow but it gets the job done! The brushes, the double bass, and great piano chording fits beautifully around Milsky’s vocals. I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say that they are influenced by gospel artists as well as late 60s R&B because the passion with which they hit the harmonies you feel that in your soul! The Hammond organ hasn’t gone unnoticed by the way… my favourite part of this song is at 0:48 when the first part of the harmonies come in… add to that the saxophone and you have a banger… well done!

SkinnyBoy Tunes is someone I’m familiar with having featured his music on my shows in the past, he’s a Norwich based producer. Milsky on the other hand are a new name to me, I need to dig a little deeper into who they are because I’m very impressed with what I’ve heard.

In fact…

Yes.

This my track of the week.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Bandcamp

SUNSTACK JONES – Cope

This starts off with a fade up leading into a drum beat that lays the pulse of this track. For me, this is another track with a psychedelic leaning on the faves, the guitars are mixed between clean acoustic and slightly distorted electric guitars. I love the finger picking of the acoustic guitar. It tells me there’s a possibility of an acoustic version of this. You never know!

The vocals show a bit of an influence from early 90s indie pop. I like the harmonies in there – very subtle! The guitar solo that’s punching through hasn’t gone unnoticed by the way, there’s a lovely bit of fuzz on that which really made me smile!

Sunstack Jones are from Liverpool – what is it with Liverpudlians and annoyingly good songs? Can someone tell me?

This is from Sunsttack Jones’s album which came out in October 2024, a 10 track project of which this is the 4th track.

They’ve got some stunning visuals on YouTube too.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

THE TUMBLEDRYER BABIES – Compassion Fatigue

This track makes a reference that unlocked a core memory for me. It speaks about George Peppard, and how he plays an underground soldier of fortune.

What am I talking about?

I’m talking about the A-Team.

You’re going to make me recite the monologue aren’t you?

“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… the A-Team.”

Sigh.

Saturday afternoons were the best.

The thing about the A-Team is that while they were good at their job, they had a compassionate side that compelled them to do their job for less than what was initially quoted because it was to help someone that was down on their luck, or in dire straits and it was just the decent thing to do. Anyway, fast forward to 2024, over 40 years since that show’s debut, it’s a different world. Back in the 80s a scruffy man could pull together a bunch of musicians who apparently hated each other if the press were to be believed and record a song that would go on to sell millions of copies as well as put on a concert that none of the acts had agreed to yet. Today it could be counted as compassion fatigue as the reason why that couldn’t happen. You never know. But when you switch on the news it’s a sad story all around. This song references that, and it does it really well, sometimes it’s hard to believe what’s happening in the world.

Musically, I like the tone of this – the vocals are sung in unison and an octave above each other. This is accompanied by a guitar with a touch of fuzz, and the drum beat is kept simple along with the bass. I like the gruffness of the lower vocal, it’s like a world weary song, there’s also an electric piano in there which plays alongside the guitar solo…

I hope we get out of this compassion fatigue. The world could be a lot better with a bit of compassion.

So who are The Tumbledryer Babies?

Well they call themselves Southend-On-Sea’s pithiest pop group.

Nice.
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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.