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

NOTE FROM DEL: Hey everyone, thanks for voting on this week’s listening post! As always, if you’re an artist who wants to be featured on my show, you’re more than welcome to submit a track to my Islington Radio show send an audio file and bio to my email clean radio edits only.

Thanks folks!

Now, making his FOTN faves debut is a man I’ve known for five years, and part of our new batch of mods – Please make him feel welcome – John Michie.

Over to you John!

ANELIE – Lay Me Down

First up we have alt-pop artist Anelie. Phoebe I-H from BBC Introducing Scotland described her voice as being “warm, inviting and somewhat otherworldly” and we would 100% agree at FOTN with this stunning banger Lay Me Down.

Lay Me Down is what a hypnotic dive into shadowy alt-pop should be. Unfolding over a brooding synthscape that pads and pulses you are transported to a place that feels both cinematic and intimate. Opening with an intense, pulsating beat, tension is built until the song swells into a soaring, widescreen chorus. ANELIE’s voice flows through the production, wrapped in ethereal harmonies and slick effects. There’s a mesmerising push-and-pull between beauty and darkness here which you will find hard not to resist.

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BARRELHAUS – Black Tar

Alt-rock powerhouse BarrelHaus from Oxford, UK, who Tom Robinson (BBC Radio 6) described as “a great combination of powerful playing and proper songwriting,” deliver the goods with the high voltage Black Tar.

Black Tar, a track built on thrashing, shuffling drum patterns and gnarly, angular electric guitar that feels raw and melodic. The song kicks in hard and rolls forward with effortless swagger. BarrelHaus balance the gritty energy by a sweeping melody that swoops in as the vocals enter. There’s a hint of different eras woven into the modern alt-rock muscle with the 1960s, 70s and 90s being detected. Black Tar definitely lives up to the band’s bio and should be played loud.

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DAVID ZUCCHI – Salve Regina

London-based Canadian saxophonist David Zucchi who works in multiple genres from classical, contemporary, experimental, and improvised demonstrates his varied skillset with the lush “Salve Regina.”

Immersive, meditative and deeply evocative, Salve Regina opens to distant lo-fi piano, rain foley, and pulsing, breath-like synth layers. The tranquil, reflective mood is only heightened when the saxophone enters. Gentle, smooth, velvety, the delicate curling sounds unfold like a half-remembered dream. As the track moves into its final stages, flurries of saxophone begin to pulse, while the soft piano adds a wistful, almost cinematic beauty. Salve Regina is a deeply atmospheric composition.

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FLAKEBELLY – Butterfly Brain

Flakebelly, from the Western Isles of Scotland, specialises in fusing psychedelic indie rock with acoustic folk-jazz. Described by Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) as extensive and wildly eclectic sonic adventures and by Neil March (Trust The Doc Media) as refreshingly individual and very likeable, returns with Butterfly Brain.

Butterfly Brain is a hypnotic track loaded with weight and atmosphere. Opening to powerful, menacing piano chords over a drumbeat that injects interesting, off kilter percussive rhythmic patterns, the song soon evolves into what feels like Eno crossed with Radiohead. Synths flare up creating a haunting, cinematic soundscape that is both immersive and unpredictable. Texture is king with this song. Electric piano and guitar weave through the mix whilst at the heart is flakebelly’s vocal. Floating lightly above the darker layers, its gentle delivery providing a striking contrast to the brooding, vivid music.

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FREND – Beautiful Stranger (Beautiful World)

Frend is the solo artist project of UK songwriter Tom Woods. Weaving wistful stories of friendship, love and loss with indie, synthwave, electro and alt pop influences his
achievements include being commended and semi-final listed in the 2024 UK Songwriting Contest.

Beautiful Stranger (Beautiful World) is a sleek, synth-driven composition rich in pulsating, hypnotic basslines and neon-soaked layers. Overflowing with an irresistible, shimmering momentum, this vivid track would be perfect listening to in your car when driving at twilight. That’s all before we get to the soaring, choruses. Cutting across the sleek production is a great indie-leaning vocal that injects a nonchalant yet emotive edge. Blending deeply atmospheric nostalgia with modern alt-pop energy, Beautiful Stranger (Beautiful World) is designed to make you move.

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GREENNESS – Dance With The Light

Based in Brighton, Greenness is the project of French singer-songwriter Cess Frangi and English producer and composer Graham Pratt. Drawing inspiration from hybrid genres, such as trip-hop and folktronica, the music of Greenness aims to create an immersive and emotional experience through the use of various acoustic instruments merged with beats, sound effects, field recordings and evocative bilingual lyrics, in a bid to explore and deepen our connection with ourselves, each other and the environment.

Dance With The Light is a mesmerising blend of indie folk and meditative grooves.
Opening softly to ambient layers that roll across the composition, the track soon breaks into a gorgeous fingerpicked pattern. You will find your head bopping as the rhythm takes hold. Enveloping layers of glitching, dreamy textures swell and sway beneath, creating a hypnotic soundscape that feels both organic and otherworldly. Greenness delivers an elegant and richly expressive vocal. Evocative and effortlessly the delivery moves from hushed intimacy to soulful power with ease. Dance With The Light is a deeply evocative track everyone needs to hear.

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JOHNNYSWIM – Dopamine (ft. Tobe Nwige)

JOHNNYSWIM, aka Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano Ramirez, from Los Angeles, come with a glowing record that has seen them be featured on Rolling Stone, NPR, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Nylon, Du Jour, and VH1.

This time they are here to dazzle us at FOTN with Dopamine. This track is a masterclass in controlled experimentation and is incredibly hard to do justice with words. Polished, slick, yet deeply organic. It shifts between rap, soul, pop, and theatrical effortlessly. This all occurs over a slow-burning groove. Sparse yet beautifully textured with drums, piano, staccato muted strings, and acoustic guitar that ascend and descend the production is so tight. Melodically rich and deeply expressive, the vocals are also just as remarkable as the music. This banger defies easy categorisation… sophisticated, immersive, and masterfully produced. Take a listen you will see what I mean!

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LONG ISLAND – Fragile

Championed by the likes of BBC Introducing West Yorkshire & Sheffield, Manchester XS and Radio X, Huddersfield based LONG ISLAND serve up a treat with “fragile.”

The band deliver a beautifully crafted slow burning anthem with Fragile. Founded around acoustic guitar the track ebbs, flows and builds tension until the cathartic choruses hit with one hell of a knockout punch. The vocal brings a resolute presence to the song and is filled full of palpable emotion as it delivers the confessional lyrics. In many ways the composition makes me think of Snow Patrol when they finally found their footing with their third album. The track feels dramatic and compelling. Fragile is a stirring piece of indie rock.

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OLIVIA BOOTH – VICTIM

Olivia Booth is a singer songwriter from the North West of the UK. Currently studying songwriting at BIMM Manchester. Her genre defying style has been described as “Indie with explosions of rock, pop and slight tease of folk and country.” She has also received radio play from good old BBC Introducing and we can totally see why.

Victim is a brooding indie rock track that thrives on atmosphere and tension. A tom-driven drum groove sets off the composition as rippling electric guitar unravels mysteriously. The slow-burning intensity is locked in tight by the bass that has a fat, rich and dark weight. At the heart is Olivia Booth’s stunning vocal. Expressive, sultry, and charged with emotion, she shifts seamlessly from tender intimacy to soaring, spine-tingling power. Her evocative voice we can guarantee will command your attention.

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THE 7:45S – Too Little Too Late

The 7:45s are an original soul collective from Manchester, dedicated to crafting the perfect single. They have earned praise from Craig Charles on BBC Radio 6 Music, who highlighted singer Martin Connor’s virtuosic ad-libs, stating, “I love his voice.” With their debut album set for a vinyl release in 2025, the year promises to be a stellar one for the group.

Too Little Too Late bursts in with an irresistible groove that sounds like it could have come from a Stevie Wonder classic or could make Paul Weller jealous in an instant. Built on a steady, driving, offbeat Motown rhythm the music instantly gets your feet moving. With punchy horns, great piano lines, splashes of organ and strings the energy is simply infectious. With a mature vocal performance and ear worm like call-and-response backing vocals, Too Little Too Late elegantly captures that classic spirit of soul.

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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.