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 first faves of 2025, I’ll be honest the first inbox of the year was full of so many gems and it was great to see new people discovering our little site either as artists submitting or new faces on the listening post.

One of my goals this year for the site is to get more ears here. If FOTN has helped you in any way please spread the word, and let other artists know what we do.

Thankyou!

Also, as always you’re more than welcome to send a track for my show on Islington Radio please send me an audio file and bio to del.owusu@gmail.com

Right. On to the faves!

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

Let’s go.

AMELIA MCFALL – Good To Gone

I actually reviewed this when it was first released this is what I had to say about it.

Canadian songbird Amelia McFall is back, bringing her brand of soul, jazz and blues to her new single, and it’s a stunner of a track.

This is piano led, and Amelia sings this comfortably, her voice sounds so rich on this! 

Wow. I just felt a warmth hearing it on the first play.

Her vocals are joined by guitar, bass and drums at 0:54, the MVP here is the guitar part, it’s serving as a counter point to Amelia’s voice, but then there’s a Hammond organ in there as well as layers of harmonies – this is just stunning! 

My favourite part is at 2:26 where Amelia sings a higher register almost like a call and response it adds more emotion to an already powerful track!

I also need to point out the wordplay on this from “Good To Go” to “Good To Gone”!

Amelia McFall Is a London-based singer-songwriter and performer. Originally from Montreal, Canada, Amelia studied Jazz voice at Concordia University. During that time, she was the four-time recipient of the Jeri Brown Acapella music Scholarship Award.

On a personal note, we know each other from our day jobs, I like the fact that sometimes the realities cross over in my life, she’s a very talented individual that I’m very proud of, a great friend and a beautiful human being.

This is her first time in the faves and I’d like to give her my track of the week badge.

Official | Instagram

HANNYA WHITE – Holding It Down In Mexico

Hannya White always has something interesting going when she puts out a new track, she will go away for months and then suddenly you get a new release.

So this is no different.

This is a lo-fi track, very unnerving and dark which is Hannya’s MO when it comes to her music, it gives you a post apocalyptic vibe, with distortion, this is not a song this is mish mash of a soundscape, this would be great for a game soundtrack I think! The bits where Hannya sings makes it even more disturbing it gives you chills, as it’s ghostly and ethereal, I’m not sure if that’s intentional but for me, it works

There are low end explosions, drum beats that come in and drop out, and then move on it’s like you’re listening to a soundtrack and watching the video on YouTube that’s glitching you’re getting all kinds of imagery from this.

Good job Hannya!

Hannya is a London-based musician, she was also a guest presenter for BBC 6 Music’s Freak Zone, an artist and she’s also played Neil’s Tomorrow Calling festival as well as well some of the most significant avant-garde gigs around London over the past few years.

Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

HAPPY DUST GANG – People Make Mistakes

The first line says it all – “People make mistakes – that’s why pencils have erasers”. It’s spoken from the get go and that line stays with you. It certainly did with me. It lists the way that people make mistakes, and I like the way it’s done, it switches between spoken word and singing. There’s humour and a seriousness to the song, referencing handcuffs and tasers, and mistakes made during lockdown.

It’s a look at the world in the end, and how sometimes you just have to chalk it up to human nature it’s always going to be a thing.

At least that’s my interpretation anyway!

This is all wrapped up inside an indie rock track with a delayed guitar. I’d have said that this is a punk influence but the harmonies wash that away immediately.

Nice work!

Happy Dust Gang are a trio from London – Erin, Paul and Lauren. They are relatively new and they’re doing pretty good for themselves!

Instagram | Twitter/X

LEWIS DANIEL – Find Your Tribe (ft Jay Phelps & Nathaniel Cross)

Now this is an interesting one, very jazzy, and sophisticated.

I love jazzy and sophisticated.

In a listening post that sat comfortably among folk songs, hip hop and a full blown concerto this just testifies to the taste of the team and the diversity of what comes through. It makes it hard to choose your favourite track each time, but thankfully I’m not alone in this mammoth task.

The intro pans from left to right, giving me a dizzying experience. This track is packed full of horns, a subby bass, a Rhodes piano, percussion. I could imagine this playing at Ronnie Scott’s on a late night session.

We get treated to strings later on in the track – What the hell am I listening to here?????

There’s a spoken word section in this, advising us to find our tribe, which is appropriate for what FOTN is – a collective of like minded souls, who have connected and evolved over the years. This is telling me what I already know and I love it.

This track gets my chef’s kiss.

Lewis Daniel refers to himself as a black nerd (I hear you!), he’s had THE NOD from Tom, he’s also part of the House Gospel Choir, an in demand musician…

I’m not surprised.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

LOST CHIMES – Something Different (Radio Edit)

I met Lost Chimes at FOTN Live Day 1 in September! It’s great to see them on the faves. This has a bit of a 70’s rock pop vibe to it, with a touch of folk. The acoustic guitars are then added to a bit of spoken word, which sound like they’ve put through a filter to make it sound like it’s going through a radio.

I love the arrangement on this, it takes you on a bit of a journey, because a violin part comes in for a solo at 1:59. A this point we see a bit of a transition, where things are slowed down a bit. There are cymbal swells, there is a plaintive repeated cry of can you cry, which is just spine tingling…

I love the drums on this, with the cymbal swells, and the way the toms are played.

This is just gorgeous! One of the most popular tracks at the listening post this weekend.

Lost Chimes are Gemma and Nicky Kirk, originally from Stoke/Leicestershire, now living in London, they’ve got shoutouts from Neil on their Spotify account as well as New Music Saturday singling out Gemma’s voice as being extraordinary.

I agree.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

MIA WILKS – Woollen Rug

Mia Wilks has a new single, and this one is a stunning acoustic number in 3/4 time. Having had Mia on my radar for the last year or so, I know that she’s very capable of multiple genres. She’s very thoughtful with her lyrics, and this is a case in point.

Don’t be afraid of going home,
It’s the only place I’ve been dreaming of,
When.the ice has melted on our woollen rug,
I promise you’ll feel at ease,
In these arms my love,
You’ll feel at ease in these arms my love.

With the time signature you’d think it’s a bit of a lullaby, and it certainly feels that way.

Beautiful!

This is her first time on the faves and I’m so excited for her, she’s got a lot ahead of her and I can’t wait to see where her journey takes her.

Mia Wilks is a singer songwriter and producer from London who began her career in music age 8 starring in Les Miserables, she’s currently going from strength to strength with partnerships with Soundcloud, as well as being my one to watch of the year in 2024.

Check out my interview with Mia here.

Instagram

PENFRIEND – Emotional Tourist

Now this track has an a great little twist, I like the fact that Penfriend is using a synth bass to give it that much of a fuzz over rock drums, the beat is steady, and gives Laura space to put in a great performance vocally on this. She switches between spoken word to really lovely harmonies.

It starts off with just guitar and Laura singing and switches gears at 0:27, with synth bleeps, it’s like you’re listening to different perspectives and I like that.

There are two things I wanted to say about this particular song, firstly emotional tourist is a term that’s new to me having looked it up on urban dictionary this is what it says:

“An emotional tourist is one that goes from person to person and feeds off of their experiences and emotions to fill the emptiness inside of them.”

Secondly, way before the internet we used to write to each other. I had a penpal called Sue who I’m still in touch with after all these years, we first started corresponding way back in 1989, and have weathered the varying forms of social media to still keep up with each other’s lives.

Penfriend’s name made me smile.

Penfriend is a singer/songwriter/producer based in Nottingham, and she likes to make music for people who like handwritten letters.

Do you know what?

I don’t remember the last time I received a handwritten letter.

Official | Instagram | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

ROLLER DERBY – Last Night

Roller Derby start this track off with a synth intro that fades up. It gives you the false impression that it’s a ballad as it’s just keyboards and vocals, guitars and a drum machine up until 0:18. Then the drums, bass, and guitar come in fully turning this into a wider track with a bigger sound. I like the chorus especially as the vocals really shine through on this,

I especially like the bridge which comes in at 2:14 giving you the false sense that the song is ending. But it’s a build up to the next section. The chorus comes around for another pass and then we arrive at the end.

Lovely!

Roller Derby is an indie / dream pop band from Hamburg, formed in 2020. Their sound
Is defined by the love for chorus guitars, synth pads and twee-pop vocal melodies.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

SHOUN SHOUN – Work

I like the way this beginnings with clashing notes, it’s very punk, but not very heavy!

I think the split sections is a running theme this week, because this has a pretty solid b section at 2:39, where everything drops back to a purr, and it’s just guitar and vocals. The atmospherics on this really works, given that this band’s style of music is described as art rock, that pretty much covers it, I’d add elements of punk influences in there too.

I like the theatrical element of it too, you just don’t know what to expect with it!

Shoun Shoun (Pronounced SHOON SHOON) are a Bristol based quartet originally from Berlin, and as noted before the make atmospheric noise pop and art psych rock with the urban ennui of Nico and the noise of Sonic Youth.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

YODASHE – LITE

To close the faves this week, we have a track from Yodashe, this track starts off with glitched synths then drums are added – just rim shot and kick to begin with as well as a harsh clap. The vocals come in high and strong – another song that’s bordering on the theatrical, because there is great section at 2:27 with bursts of static, and gliding synths!

I like that.

I’d like to point out a section of the lyrics that spoke to me:

“Don’t define
Love
Try to find
Hope.”

Indeed.

Yodashe is a London-based independent artist and producer.
She debuted her solo electronic project in NYC as alumna of Redbull Music Academy.

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

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.