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.

A word from Del:
Hey everyone! Welcome back to another top week of faves, Thanks also 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 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!

Over to you Neil!

Well, what a week and weekend! We have seen real highs and lows in recent days. In some once working class areas of England (first Brexit, then Boris, now Farage!), it was the revenge of the old white xenophobes who elected well over 600 new councillors who were happy to build campaigns based on lies, paranoia and hatred, egged on by sections of the media. It will be interesting to see whether certain parties respond with courage and conviction or with cowardice and copycatism. The music world also lost the uniquely talented Mike Peters of Welsh Post-Punk/Indie Folk warriors The Alarm after a really long battle with cancer. The outpouring of emotion reminded us that real heroes spread love, not hate. In the meantime, we had an outstanding Fresh on the Net in-box and the moderators did our best to provide a similarly superb and diverse (yes Nige, the d-word!) Listening Post So I guess it was inevitable that one or two masterpieces missed out on the faves as voted for by our readers. Never mind. We still have some cool tracks and it is once again my privilege to review them. Here goes then.

BEAUTY SLEEP – Radical Happiness

First on the alphabetical list are the Derry-based band Beauty Sleep with a track that actually also won the New Trax Poll on my Trust The Doc Radio show on Exile FM this weekend. They have also recently signed with the popular indie label Alcopop! Records. Last year saw them perform at the Women’s Work Festival in Belfast and they had a video nominated for an award at the NI Music Prize. They have done extremely well to receive PPL Momentum Funding from the PRS Foundation.

The song Radical Happiness has a positive message about figuring out how to love ourselves and embrace happiness. It has an undeniable synthpop sensibility, organised in contrasting layers against a tight beat and harmony-soaked vocals. The hook makes good use of a I – Vm – IV – I chord configuration but the track is filled with fluid changes and benefits from big spacious production. That and the fact that it is a cracking choon too.

Linktree | Instagram | YouTube

HAZY WATERS – Overdose

The name Hazy Waters sounds like it could be the perfect backdrop for the aforementioned Beauty Sleep! But that, my friends, is the only known connection between these first two bands. Hazy Waters are a London-based Alt Rock/Shoegaze band who say they are ‘… for fans of 90s nostalgia and grit’. According to an interview in My Music, they have been together for 15 years (I know, they really don’t look old enough!) and were brought together by a shared love of Radiohead. They say Overdose blends ‘… peaceful melancholy with a wall of power’ and they are keen to clarify that this is not the kind of overdose you might assume from the title!

Overdose kicks off with unison guitars and bass playing a syncopated rhythm in time with the drums while the alto range vocal floats slightly menacingly atop this power-driven opening. Then a grand chord change takes us into a striking hook and crashing guitars. The track builds with the vocal stretching out before that cool chorus returns. We then get a fascinating semi-deconstruction and almost arhythmic mid-section as the drums drop out. But when they return, it is at a new faster pace, everything driving forward. This is proper wall-of-sound shoegaze like Lush in a jam with Been Stellar while Ride and Bleach Lab chuck in extra flavours. And anyone who knows my tastes will know that is one large and extended compliment.

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ISAAC STUART – Bloom (when The Rain Falls)

Singer-songwriter Isaac Stuart seems a little coy regarding his whereabouts but a spin the other day on BBC Introducing in Oxfordshire might be a bit of a clue. His Instagram account has a clip from a ‘secret gig’ involving Isaac on piano and vocals, with a Cellist, playing a stripped back but passionate rendition of Bloom. He describes it as representing ‘… something of an existential crisis and questioning everything in the pursuit of meaning’. Meanwhile, it may seem like Isaac is very much a new name but his Spotify streaming numbers say otherwise with songs going back at least 5 years, 2 of which have amassed over 600,000 streams each!

Bloom (When The Rain Fades) is a giant of a track. Based on a slow triplet time backdrop, his emotionally charged lyric with its questions about how there can be a God in such a terrible world, among other things, is set to a cinematic instrumental arrangement that has the word ‘epic’ writ large across its being. The flashes of choral harmony have a heavenly aura, adding to the enormity of the ambition in this track. It is, in many ways, the little dazzling moments that make this such a fantastic piece of work. That and a yearning, dynamic and accomplished delivery by a seriously talented artist.

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NATALIE HOLMES – Jack In A Box

Described as being from Bristol/Stroud, Natalie Holmes has already amassed an impressively extensive catalogue that, on Bandcamp alone, stretches back to 2011. Friday saw her supporting Submotion Orchestra and, in June, she is off on tour with The Longest Johns. She has a new album planned for October release too so it looks like an exciting year ahead.

Jack In A Box kicks off with a rugged percussion intro and Natalie’s distinctive vocal before more instruments and voices join and lead us into a catchy descending figure that recurs periodically. We then get double stopping bass tones underpinning the second verse and the melody builds, often adorned by attractive harmonies, long legato synth strings and piano chords. Constant changes in the mix keep events moving and add to the sense of completeness. At the heart of this inventiveness is a lovely song and Natalie’s engaging, expressive voice. This is actually a very good example of the singer-songwriter form in a highly contemporary incarnation.

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

NOVELTY ISLAND – Rainy

Novelty Island, aka Liverpool’s Tom McConnell, is a returning fresh fave (this being at least his third time). He has had some good coverage for this project including the likes of Mojo and Shindig magazines and airplay from BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing and Absolute Radio.

Rainy kicks off with a Status Quo meets Oasis chunky guitar riff before strummed chords take over. The Oasis comparison continues through the verses until the staccato on-beat chords that accompany a Beatlesesque bridge into an appealing chorus with shades of The La’s. The playing is accomplished and he makes clever use of contrasts in texture and dynamic. The phat harmonies in the second half of the track are the icing on the cake.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

PHIL COOPER – Bijou

Bristol is well represented this week. Phil Cooper is a singer-songwriter who maintains a busy live itinerary that takes him around the UK including a tour with The Lost Trades in Autumn 2024. He also offers live streaming content for those who prefer to stay at home and watch and he likes to combine performing with talking about the art of songwriting.

Bijou is in a syncopated triplet time with acoustic guitar chords providing the primary accompaniment to the vocals, following a two-chord pattern of major 7 chords, a minor third apart before a IV maj7 and V (part suspended) take us into a chorus in similar vein but deeper and harmonised. A low-mixed harmony joins the lead vocal in the second verse as Phil seeks to develop the track. The percussion becomes more prominent in the final stretch as we get a harmonised mid-section to round off a well-written and executed track.

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PSYCHEDELIC KANGAROO CULT – Face It All

Described as ‘International duo residing in Yorkshire UK and Australia’, I assume Psychedelic Kangaroo Cult do want to be heard, hence submitting to Fresh on the Net so their apparent non-existence on all social media is puzzling to say the least. Accordingly, I can tell you nothing else about them.

Face It All kicks off with some in-store style echoing keybords before a beat and single keyboard chords accompany an 80s-style [although slightly Jaggeresque] semi-conversational melody vocal. The song sticks to two chords with the ‘shopping centre’ theme returning periodically. The bassline is inventive and it uses some interesting synth effects to keep things moving forward.

Bandcamp

SAM REDMORE – El Camino

Birmingham’s Sam Redmore is becoming a regular fresh fave, this being his third time in less than a year and fifth in total. One of those visits was via a collaboration with Afrobeat legend Dele Sosimi and Sam certainly has a penchant for utilising international influences. His CV is impressive with festival stages, national radio support and writing intro music for comedian Joe Lycett’s TV show among his many credits. Sam has just set off on an extensive UK tour which culminates with an October date at the Fox & Firkin, round the corner from me in Lewisham and where I promoted monthly gigs for two years. He seems mainly to DJ so I am not sure what the process is for creating his tracks.

El Camino sees Sam swap West African lilt for Latin grooves. When I reviewed this recently for Trust The Doc, I noted that the chord pattern and instrumental arrangement is a lot like Salsa but sped up, more Merengue perhaps, following some irresistible rhythmic configurations in a I – IV – v7 – IV minor key patten and bringing in some high brass stabs. It has a female vocal in what I presume is Spanish (unless it’s Portugese) and there is an unmistakable Brazilian-Colombian vibe to the track. Ellie Coleman’s alto range vocals add a special degree of quality.

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SHARON KATTA & NĂT – Detachment Theory

As well as being a recent graduate of ICMP and a highly impressive multi-tasker, Sharon Katta is a young London-based Indian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is also, as it happens, my go-to sound engineer for live events and is always experimenting with ways to capture and record audio and video content in various scenarios. His last single Home narrowly missed out on the faves but has since amassed nearly 17,000 Spotify streams and drawn praise from a variety of sources.

New single Detachment Theory clearly did connect with our readers and it is not difficult to hear why. It begins with softly strummed guitar and Nãt’s distinctive vocals in tenor range as long legato tones drift into the mix. The arrangement becomes gradually more cinematic. A drone-like lower register vocal is juxtaposed against a more expressive and dexterous high one while instrumental sounds weave in and out and around them. Then, in the final part of the song, the instrumental arrangement deconstructs, leaving bare yearning vocals asking ‘Can you heal me?’. It is a superb ending to an outstanding track.

Instagram | Twitter/X | YouTube

TOGETHER REBELS – The Love That You Deserve

Together Rebels are a collaboration between South London’s Breezy Lee and Glasgow’s Richard Luke. They have already been played by Roddy Hart on BBC Radio Scotland. The Love That You Deserve is their debut single and was released on Friday.

Breezy Lee’s soulful alto vocals are accompanied by a syncopated beat, decorative piano and long synth tones while sounds drift in and out of focus. The instrumental play subtly increases in intensity towards the finale. It is smoothly produced, cleverly constructed and the sounds are well chosen. A sophisticated and reflective finale to this week’s 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.