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, thanks to all the artists that submitted tracks last week. I’d like to ask a favour of those who have made the faves. While you cannot submit a track for 90 days please do come and support your fellow artists at the weekend, and check out the listening post. They’ll love you for it!

As always, if you’d like to be featured on my Islington Radio show, send me an audio file and a bio to my email, clean radio edits only!

Thanks folks.

Onto the faves.

Well, I really fancied something refreshing so I’ve got a tall glass of orange juice and my headphones are charged.

Four lit and in the green.

Let’s go.

ADULT LEISURE – Dancing Don’t Feel Right

This isn’t Adult Leisure’s first outing on the faves, having appeared here last November. This is a great slice of indie pop, this has a driving rhythm to it giving a hint of 80s flavour with the synths being low key in the mix. The guitars twinkle on this, lending more to the 80s side, very clean sounding!

What I like about this song is how well it’s produced and arranged. It starts off kind of in the middle of a phrase it seems. It’s not on the down beat either, so it’s hard to locate the rhythm unless you’re looking for it. It’s baffling but that’s not a bad thing!

There’s a great guitar solo at 1:48 as well breaking up the energy of the song, you will want to play air guitar to this.

The guitar solo comes back in again and ends the track with a dead stop.

In short, this song makes you want to throw your most horrendous shapes on the dance floor. I reckon the Bruce Springsteen dance from the “Dancing In The Dark” video works pretty well with this. Of course I will not be showing a demonstration.

Who are Adult Leisure?

Formed in 2020, Adult Leisure are a melodic alt-indie four-piece based in Bristol. This single came out back in February 2025, and continues their tradition of fab indie pop.

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

BRYONY LLOYD – 4AM

Full disclosure – it’s 4am while I write this so it’s a bit of a meta feeling! This is a song that’s acoustic led, and very gentle, very much in keeping with the time of the day. The thing about this time of the day you’re very aware of everything. While it’s not an ideal time to be awake you’re able to feel, hear, smell, touch, see a bit more. That’s my experience anyway.

This song documents a sleepless night, not thinking of a friend, Ruth. I get the feeling that this song is about not feeling an absence for the first time but feeling everything else.

Having looked at Bryony Lloyd’s instagram she’s very handy on the guitar! So the finger picking here is all her, plus there are some really cool ethereal sounds added to this making it even more dreamlike.

Beautiful work!

Bryony Lloyd is a singer songwriter – according to her spotify bio she’s part of the Manchester folk scene, and has spent many years being the overprotective mother to her songs.

Linktree | Instagram | YouTube

CAMILLE BAZIADOLY, THE FILTHY HONEY – Sideways

Another folksy one that blends nicely from the previous track this one picks up the pace a little bit, and adds a cello which lifts it up so much. The simplicity of this song is what sells it for me, while it’s quite fast, the gentleness comes through. We have percussion in the way of shakers, background sounds, bells. Something tells me that kick drum didn’t start out life as a kick. It was either someone banging on the body of the guitar to give it that resonant sound or something similar. Whatever it is it intrigued me enough to go back and listen a couple of times! Whatever it is, I need the recipe!

Camille Baziadoly’s vocals really are gorgeous on this track, I especially like her harmonies on this.

What a treat!

Camille Baziadoly worked with The Filthy Honey (What a great name!) on this, aka Phil Honey, who takes the producer and arrangement role and the work paid off.

Camille is a French born Oxford based singer songwriter, and I especially liked Nightshift Magazine’s take on her work – “It’s like a celestial aria.”

Indeed.

Instagram

CHOLLY – IDWI

Cholly is back with a fab dance-pop track with her imprint of layered vocals! The drums and bass come in hard and fast, manipulated through disruptive effects to give it a rough edge, Cholly happily sings over this on top of which she turns her vocals into an instrument on their own, using them both percussively, as well as probably sampling them to use them as a synth pad. If that’s the case I’d love to have a sample library of her just singing ahhhs and oohs.

There’s a bit of an operatic quality on the higher notes too, as well as just pure pop vocals – enough for this to sit on a BBC 6 Music playlist in my opinion.

Yes that’s a hint.

She’s a singer songwriter and producer from High Wycombe and has been championed by our Neil in the past, and is no stranger to the Faves, her first time dating back to 2018, I also interviewed her in the distant past. You can read our interview here.

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

CHRISTOF R DAVIS – Snow Moon

Christof R Davis makes his debut on the Fresh Faves with a cracker of an instrumental, it conjures up so many images, both with its title and the emotions invoked from the piece itself.

It’s based around piano and strings as well as a vibraphone like tone, this could work pretty well in an animation if it was shorter, or even like the background music to a David Attenborough film about the wildlife of a remote winter wonderland.

The notes are played singular, there are no chords, some are played in octaves, however there’s a really lovely swell around 1:49, and then dissipates into the background…

This is a stunning piece!

One thing I don’t think I’ve told anyone is that I tend to read the bio after I’ve done the review – So it comes as no surprise that film scoring and composing is what Christof R Davis actually does!

Christof R Davis is an award nominated composer and musician from Solihull, West Midlands, UK. He has written extensively for film, theatre, television, games and orchestral/choral ensembles.
Credits include 4 feature films (1 award nomination), 30+ short films (multiple award winners), work for television / games alongside commercial projects (clients include Jaguar Landrover, The World Bank Group, Gap and more). Work has been broadcast on BBC (TV/Radio) and Worldwide (German, Spanish and US Television).

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CUTTY – Ain’t Talkin

Ahh the sound of a radio tuner knob being turned! You don’t get that very often now, given the way that the digital world is nowadays. This has barbs both in lyrics and instrumentation, there’s plenty of fuzz but then this track deserves it.

The lyrics of the chorus are catchy as is the chorus:

“Got no line from your friends,
I ain’t talking bout your friends,
Got no line from your friends,
I ain’t talking about your friends.”

This combines pop and indie rock really well, but my favourite part is at 2:26 where strings come in! You don’t expect it, but it’s a treat to hear as this song is going through so many different elements…

The build is genius.

Oh HELL NO! There’s a drum n bass break!

Yup.

This?

This is epic.

So of course, Cutty earns my track of the week. Cutty are a dynamic duo hailing from Hull. They are Amy Precious a singer and artist and Kev La Kat a multi instrumentalist. They first crossed paths at Dive HU5 where Kev DJ’d and Amy worked.

Linktree | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp

JOHN DENTON – Not The Same

FOTN is a funny old beast I tell you. You get people from all corners of the world and different walks of life passing through those hallowed saloon doors and propping themselves up at the bar, where the world weary bar staff listens to their tales of love, woes, and life in general with a genuinely interested ear. How does a 14 year old like John Denton channel the spirit of his indie rock ancestors like this?

I’m baffled.

His voice sounds like he’s been doing this for twice his age, it has a little tinge of soul in there such a rich tone, against a backdrop of jangly guitars, there’s a tambourine hidden in there, and it sounds like this song is written and recorded to announce him to the world.

This track has typical indie rock energy to it, and is definitely a toe tapper, if you’re not air guitaring along at 3:28…

I don’t know what to tell you.

I see big things happening for John Denton.

So – who is he?

Well, you may not know him now but you will. He’s from Manchester, he’s got the nod from Johnny Marr – Aged 12 he got the Johnny Marr Award no less!

So…

He’s my one to watch.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

JUNKYARD OF SILENCED POETS – The Permissive Footpath Society

Walking away from the listening post with the highest amount of votes, Junkyard Of Silenced Poets bless us, the FOTN faithful with an instrumental track that has everything going for it, so to say they deserve a place in the faves is an understatement.

This is a certified banger.

Let’s break it down shall we?

At 3:36, this track is action packed, it starts off with some nifty acoustic guitar playing, I think it may be two guitars being played at the same time, one taking the lead solo and the other playing the riff. Under this there’s some percussion, we have bongos congas, a cowbell even makes an appearance (Christopher. Walken. Would be. Proud. If you don’t get the reference jump on YouTube.). There’s a meaty percussion solo at 0:53 and that’s what sold it for me, as well as the addition of a synth pad at 1:26.

This is SO good.

Overall this has tinges of folk, electronica and Latin.

But wait.

There’s more!

At 2:08 there’s an extended section from drums and bass and the guitar comes back in.

So let’s add prog rock to the vibe.

Great job!

This one gets my chef’s kiss.

Junkyard Of Silenced Poets are no strangers to the Fresh Faves, as well as having been guest moderators for the Eclectic Picks. They describe their sound as sonic cubism. They have been featured on BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Orbit, BBC Radio Nottingham, BBC Radio Derby, and BBC Radio Leicester, among others.

Official | Instagram | Twitter/X | YouTube

KATYA – Spirit Of Your Roots

Time to go reggae with this next one from Katya, a singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist, this is a strong offering! It’s got dub elements in there, cutting in with seem deep elements phasing in and out, you can tell that there’s a drum n bass influence in there, I like the fact there’s some horns on this, it keeps the track going, as well as Katya’s really strong vocals. It’s one of my favourite tracks this year I think.

I love the lyrics of the chorus:

Look to the spirit of your roots,
We are not alone,
Look to the spirit of your roots,
Where the sun keeps shining,
Spirit of your roots
Hold your head up to the heavens,
Spirit of your roots
Spirit of your roots.

There’s so much darkness in the world I think we need songs like this to remind us to look to our roots and remember that somewhere in the distant past there was a time when we were happy.

Anyway that’s my interpretation!

Katya is a singer songwriter producer and mix engineer from London, she’s got a headline show coming up at the Green Note on 22nd April.

I sincerely hope it goes well!

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X

NADIA SHEIKH – How To Lose A Friend

To close out the faves we have an indie rock track from Nadia Sheikh. I’ve been keeping an eye on her adventures and got to meet her at FOTN Live last year, and I’m very impressed by what she has going on!

This is a power indie track, Nadia’s voice sits comfortably within this wall of sound, lots of guitars that push your attention to that, there are peaks and dips where everything drops out except at 1:38 where it’s just her the bass and drums this is my favourite part of the song. This is a fab middle 8!

This song is about the pain of losing a friend, and the immediate aftermath because it seems she lives rent free in this person’s mind, as she says that she’s running in and out of their mind. Or it could mean that she’s trying to figure out why their friendship ended and she’s trying to get into why it happened.

In any case, this is a stomper of a track and a fab way to end a really strong week.

Nadia Sheikh is someone I interviewed back in 2023, she’s an artist and musician from London. she’s had a lot happen for her, Glastonbury, TikTok recognition, and Kendall Calling. If this track is anything to go by, her career’s going on a trajectory that I can’t wait to see more of.

Read our interview here.
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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.