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

Message from Del:
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.

Over to you Neil!

Yes it’s me again folks! I did offer to step aside if anyone else fancied writing the reviews but it was not to be so you are stuck with me but solo this time. Sherry and I will be teaming up to write the reviews again in early April. So it has been another week of the most farcical and ridiculous shenanigans on the international political stage. A different slant on Nero’s ‘fiddling while Rome burns’ perhaps! These are worrying times in which some of the most unaccountable people are among the most powerful and influential. It often feels as if there are not many people or things we can trust in these days. But we CAN trust in music and the high standard of what has been pouring into the Fresh on the Net inbox this week is a welcome reminder of that. Fast forward a few days and our readers have made their choices. It is, as ever, a privilege to review the tracks they have voted for. I have coffee and I also have Coffee & Walnut Cake. So what am I waiting for?!

ALIEN ALARMS – The Handles Turn

Jim Purbrick, aka Alien Alarms, may need little introduction to some regular Fresh on the Net readers. A regular fresh fave, the Brighton-based artist is a highly versatile writer, performer and producer and a regular collaborator with other artists. Live, I can confirm that he mixes his meticulous synth-playing and electronics with being one heck of a funky Bass Guitarist. He maintains a busy live schedule and he has a distinctive visual look in terms of his artwork which adopts a kind of post-pointillist style.

The Handles Turn represents a bit of a shift away from recent releases for Jim. After a series of dark, daunting and dystopian tracks utilising spoken word and synth-electronic backdrops, this has a more Trip Hop-infused feel with some sweet chords and soulful vocals. He underpins this with fluid, tuneful bass and smart dub elements, creating a sophisticated sound world that enhances the melodic content of the track. This has been going down a storm on my radio show and you will hear why.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Bandcamp

ANNA PANCALDI – Reason

Serial Fresh Fave Anna Pancaldi has an impressive musical CV already with her music appearing in Grey’s Anatomy and airplay on BBC Radio 1, 2 and 6 Music as well as BBC Introducing support. She has also had her music featured in Pretty Little Liars and a string of TV and Movie soundtracks. In terms of her songwriting, she harnesses a long lineage of classic influences from Carol King to Joni Mitchell to Jeff Buckley and much more besides.

Reason is a climatic slow number that gradually adds layers and dynamics, all the while dominated by Anna’s expressive, agile vocal performance and pronounced single piano chords at the beginning of each bar. Add a rich string arrangement and some almost ghostly backing vocals and, without you really noticing, the emotional impact of the track grows and takes you over, reinforcing her high pedigree as a singer-songwriter.

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

BIG FEAR – Beautiful Hands

Described on their Instagram page as ‘Independent Queer Band from the UK’, Big Fear will be playing Truck Festival in July. Last month they were at Paper Dress Vintage and they have been featured on BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire & Berkshire which gives us a clue as to where in the UK they are from.

Beautiful Hands is a supercharged synthpop salvo, fired with yearning, passionate soprano range vocals and laced with an instant and infectious melody. The production is agreeably loud and the synths and beat are bright and buoyant. The lyric deals with fears about aggressive use of AI, a subject I suspect we will be hearing more and more songs about in the next few years. The dark lyrical content does not prevent this being a catchy, energetic and engaging track though.

Official | Instagram| YouTube | Bandcamp

CABLE STREET COLLECTIVE – All We Got Left

I reviewed Cable Street Collective last time they made the faves in November and I quoted our founder Tom Robinson as saying they ‘… groove like a bastard’! Ahem, quite Tom! CSC are a band who, not at all surprisingly, have played many festivals and they are off to play Paradhis in Cornwall in early summer. They have also been getting some pretty impressive streaming figures so I hope this, one of at least three times being voted into the faves, will be a help in their latest promotional push.

All We Got Left has all the elements we love about Cable Street Collective. It is joyfully energetic with an internationalist aura that speaks both to the socio-political perspective behind the lyrics and to the combination of musical flavours. Latin, Caribbean, Celtic and maybe even a touch of African elements meld together, helped by the integral interplay between the band members and some bright, sparky horns. The vocals, as ever, are simiultaneoutly passionate and playful. Music to lift your spirits in a time when our spirits so often need that lift.

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

FLYING VIPERS – Jackals

Boston-based Flying Vipers are that rare thing, a band at Fresh on the Net who have a Wikipedia page! May sees them playing an album launch in Cambridge, Massachusetts (their home State obviously) as well as a show in Brooklyn, New York. This will be their debut album. The band were announced to the world with the single Show Me in 2024.

Jackals kicks off with some tasty horns and classic echoing dub drum fill before an expressive female vocal (courtesy of Kellee Webb) leads us into a tuneful, punchy piece of Reggae with plenty of perfectly produced dub elements. The playing on this track is really spot on; busy and explosive drums, choppy guitar, reverberant melodica, shimmering organ and bright horns being just some of the elements. Add an earworm of a melody and top-notch vocals and this is just a joy. Timeless and fresh.

Official | Instagram | Bandcamp | Wikipedia

HANNAH ROBINSON – Who I Am

Hailing from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne where she is fresh from being awarded Track of the Week for this song by BBC Introducing, Hannah Robinson describes her music as ‘dreamy, shoegazey rock’. She and her band will be supporting Better Joy at Zerox this week and they have been selling out gigs around the North East for some time. Hannah’s passion for writing and recording music goes back to when she was 12 and would make demos in her room. She has developed her craft since that time and is now able to write and play at an impressive standard as Who I am bears witness.

The term ‘dreamy shoegazey rock’ could not be more spot on when describing Who I Am except that you need to add that there is a level of musical sophistication and fluidity here that requires a special degree of musicianship and focus with the dramatic switching between chord sequences and the decorative layers of guitar that lift this excellent track up another level. Hannah’s vocal is committed and commanding, setting out a lyric inspired by the narcissistic and manipulative behaviour of someone towards their own audience. This is genuinely invigorating and inspired.

Linktree| Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

SOHODOLLS – Thread

Okay, I will admit to being a tad confused. Sohodolls have over a million monthly Spotify listeners and their most popular track received over 200 million streams! We don’t usually see this with Fresh on the Net submissions. But hey, we are open to anyone who wants to test their music out on our readers. Sohodolls were formed back in the mid-2000s when singer Maya Von Doll (who had been originally airlifted into the UK as a child rescued from war-torn Lebanon) led the band to two Indie Chart hits that caused something of a stir. Since then, the band has supported numerous big names on tours and other live events. They are published by AG Songs and Sony Music Publishing and Thread is the title track of their last album, released in 2024.

Thread is a track that grabbed my attention on first listen. Maya’s voice has a distinctive and alluring quality and the melody is immediate. It kicks off with deep buzzing synths and a gradually emerging beat before everything kicks in. What ensues are a danceable Pop vibe and layers of synths plus a straight ahead beat; all cleverly brought in and out of the mix, creating snappy contrasts and emphasising the dynamism of the chorus. This is one hell of an earworm, that’s for sure.

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THE NEW LEAVES – Maggie’s Island

Based in County Down in Northern Ireland, The New Leaves are recording for Last Night From Glasgow these days which may explain why so much of their busy live schedule in recent times has seen them playing iconic Scottish venues like Barrowlands and Leith Depot in addition to an impressive itinerary of Irish venues. They have also had support from BBC Ulster, BBC Radio Foyle and RTE. Their Instagram account lovingly documents their activities.

Maggie’s Island is not, as I momentarily wondered, another retrospective about Margaret Thatcher but a dark and tragic tale of a young woman who drowned in a boating accident. The moody Celtic Folk-infused atmsophere is perfecty evocative of the stormy sea story in the lyrics. The New Leaves bring a rich instrumental combination of long legato string tones, picking guitar and beautiful, sometimes quite extended, male and female vocal harmonies. It is a macabre but tastefully told story. Moreover, the magical sound of the voices and haunting tones of the combined strings are quite overpowering.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

TOMÁS DONCKER – Hard Is Hard

What can I say about Tomás Doncker?! The leader of the True Groove All Stars and head of the True Groove label in New York; he is a legend of the NY Funk and Hip Hop scenes and an original participant in the No Wave movement. His CV of artists he has played for and collaborated with is mouth watering and, even when I saw him play live last year, he had Keith Shocklee from Public Enemy on the decks. His last appearance in the fresh faves was a collaboration with the legendary [and sadly late] Amp Fiddler. On a separate note, I had the pleasure of Tomás being a guest speaker for two of my classes of students at ICMP recently and he blew them away too! Having had the pleasure of seeing him perform three times with the TGAS (including at a gig I put on in 2023), I can tell you that he is a true grandmaster of Funk music.

Hard Is Hard delivers a simple, slightly brutal message about the realities of surviving in the crazy world and industry we operate in. Tomás’s gritty deep vocals play off against his trademark funky guitar style and an intoxicating slow funk groove with cool horns. The bass is dirty and deep while the beat is irresistible. At times, the instruments play in a syncopated unison before spreading out again. In one sense, it is Old Skool but then it is timeless too and indisputably fresh.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

TONGUETIED – Call Myself A Writer

I cannot tell you how happy I am that this track made the faves and received such a high volume of votes. Since debuting live in late 2023, Tonguetied has played some awesome shows and had support from BBC Introducing. Tonguetied explains, in the last Instagram message, that 2025 has kicked off with a large health-related curveball and that, having decided singing was all that was manageable, they recorded this ‘sad’ vocal-only ‘demo’ and put it on Soundcloud. Demo? Oh my giddy wotsits! This is so crying out to be released. Let’s hope the health issue is one that can be resolved as soon as is realistic.

Call Myself A Writer is the track that instantly blew me sky high when I heard it at moderation. Stunningly beautiful vocal harmonies conjure up an Emily Hall-ish atmosphere to begin with, creating some spine-tinglingly extended but close harmonic language. There is a ghostly and perhaps churchian quality to the reverberant harmony here; a veritable choir of Tonguetied’s expressive, emotion-shredding voice. Then suddenly the dynamics rise up and there is an Elizabeth Fraser-like aura as the voices cut right through me. Lisa Gerrard could also be a reference here. It is overwhelming in its sheer emotional power; emphasising why this is the standout track for me this week and a breathtaking finale to this week’s very fine faves.

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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.