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.

Word from Del: Hi everyone, welcome back to another week of faves! Thanks first and foremost to our fab readers for helping us to put it together, and to the artists for sharing your talents with us. As always, you can submit a track for consideration to my Islington Radio show drop me an email with a bio and audio file. Clean radio edits only!

Secondly please follow the Fresh On The Net instagram and Bluesky accounts and share with your friends and family.

Over to you Neil!

Neil:
So, as May closes out, the weekend again saw 25 tracks make it through the team’s moderation process in which we do our best to provide a diverse range of artists and genres before handing over to our readers to decide what kind of range they prefer in the final ten. This week the important job of reviewing their choices falls to me. So, just back from a long journey and ready to crack open an ice cold can of sugar free fizzy, let’s get down to it.

NB: I know a lot of artists will skip straight to their review and won’t read this intro but, for those who do, the number of artists with no links on their Soundcloud page this week was possibly the worst I have encountered in seven and a half years as a mod. Tip for aspiring artists: if you want reviews, make it easy for bloggers, journos etc. to find you on social media. Start by sharing all your relevant links on your Soundcloud page and putting your Linktree in all your social media profiles. Don’t assume everyone will be as willing as we are to go on a wild goose chase to find your background info.

BONK! – Say Kwah

Liverpool quartet Bonk! have been described by Clash Mag as ‘Prog-Pop Outlaws’ and their Instagram tells us that Say Kwah is an anthem for bored commuters wondering ‘… if there will ever be a way to connect the bright and beautiful world inside the mind with the grey-paved, grey-faced, grey-skied reality we’ve all found ourselves a part of’. It is a return after a little break and a busy 2024 that saw them tour England across the North, East and London.

The conversational feel of the vocals and sardonic lyrical style have echoes of Do Nothing in a mash with Yard Act while there is an element of Working Mens Club in the kaleidoscopic synth riffs that interact with busy beat, tuneful guitar and catchy harmony-backed chorus. It is easy to rely on words like quirky to describe Bonk!’s style but that would be doing them an injustice when the musicianship underpinning the smart arrangement here is the perfect foil for the humour but intensity of the male vocals. A band to watch.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

ERRUNHRD – To The Surface

Hailing from Niagara Falls in Canada, Shirin Goujalou aka Errunhrd has been on my radar for some time. She narrowly missed out on the faves with her previous single Don’t Drink Chemicals but has been a fave as far back as 2021. She has had support this month from BBC Introducing in Scotland, one of two parts of the UK she has resided in. She has an impressive CV of festival stages, reviews and airplay behind her and I have enjoyed writing about her music in Trust The Doc too. So I was delighted to see To The Surface sail into this weekend’s faves.

Driven along, from the outset, by staccato synth bassline and long ambient synth tones accompanied by an uptempo beat, the song is dominated by Shirin’s soft but assured and strong voice. Dreamy yet dark, engaging but ethereal, setting out an appealing melody and creating clever contrasts and configurations between the hypnotic groove of the keys and drums, the floating echo of the synth tones and the vocals at the centre of the mix. This is soothing and unsettling in equal measure. Shirin is a real talent and this track underlines that in every aspect.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

FRAN LUSTY – Praying Mantis

London singer-songwriter Fran Lusty last made the faves in February when Sherry was reviewing and she noted that Fran had been on an adventure in Nashville, Tennessee as well as receiving support from BBC Radio 1, BBC Scotland and BBC Introducing in Essex. She has also appeared at the Cambridge Folk Festival among her various live shows.

Praying Mantis kicks off with an attractive picked reverberant guitar figure that sets the scene. It is a soft, slightly dreamy track in which Fran’s highly distinctive voice instantly grabs attention, fortified by harmonies here and there. The melody is touching and there are some lovely chord changes. Fran proves it is possible to produce a wholly satisfying track without over-egging the pudding and by introducing layers in a gradual evolution. As Del noted when we were discussing the track, it gets better with every listen.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

GUEST IN THE CAR – Let Them Know

Pop Rock band Guest In The Car appear to be keeping their location a secret although the regular gigs in London venues may or may not be a clue. There isn’t much information beyond this on their socials but they have managed to amass over 40K streams with a recent single so they are doing something right. If they keep putting themselves out there on the live circuit alongside some savvy marketing, 2025 can be a good year for them.

Let Them Know mainly follows a I – VIm – IIIm – V format with guitars intertwining and adding some Andy Summers-like suspensions to bring an air of sophistication to the harmonic language while the bass and drums provide a solid undercurrent. Male vocals lead the line, sometimes boosted by harmonies. It is catchy, well produced and sits in a similar ballpark to acts like Daydreamers and Del Water Gap. Maybe a touch of Alfie Jukes too.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

NOT NOT COOL – Dumb

The Soundcloud link takes you to a page called The Last Dinosaur so you can’t find any useful info about Not Not Cool from that but no matter. I hunted for and found the below links for Not Not Cool themselves although only the Instagram one has any content. They are on Spotify though [albeit they have no info in their Artist Profile]. So the only other history I can share is that they are a collaboration between the aforementioned The Last Dinosaur, a guy called Will Clapson and a female vocalist called, on Instagram, La.Nskey (so not sure if that’s two names or Lanskey!). And Dumb is their first release.

Dumb starts off with a kind of lo-fi vibe, slightly whispery male vocal in unison with guitar and some meaty percussion. It builds in little layers while the tune begins to weave its way inside my head. Understated but effective fuzztone guitar plays in open fifths before a second verse in which an additional vocal part adds to the track’s development. Then suddenly it is over.. And who doesn’t love a surprise ending?!

Instagram

SHY PUMA – Omen

Working with her musical partner-in-crime, guitarist Matteo Busti, Shy Puma performs both with a full band and as a duo with Matteo (as was the case when they recently played Pizza Express Jazz Club). Looking at her Bandcamp page, I think she is Italian, living in London but I hope I have not misunderstood this detail. Her last two singles have been co-produced with Alessandro Le Barbera. Del tells me she also has roots in Egypt.

The song Omen is a heartbreaking tale of what I presume, from the beautiful but painfully honest lyrics, to be about someone close who was taken by terminal illness. The playing off between the victim’s desperate faith and the artist’s lack of it is clever and touching, especially in the final verse. This is set to a sophisticated jazz-infused backdrop of lush chord play, light textured instrumental excellence and Shy Puma’s platinum voice, distinctive, dexterous and deeply expressive. This is really quite beautiful.

Linktree | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp

SOFT COTTON COUNTY – Time Is Moving On

There isn’t a whole lot of information available about Soft Cotton County but they have already been able to amass a list of compliments from media figures including John Kennedy, American Pancake and others. From what I can see, I think they may be from London.

Time Is Moving On begins like a super polite Hope Sandoval singing a sweet melody over single synth chords that echo across the mix. There is a choir girl essence to the vocals. Guitar adds some sliding figures against the legato keys. It has a slightly ethereal quality, especially when the vocals rise up the register. If Saint Etienne had collaborated with Julee Cruise while Chromatics lurked in the shadows, it might have sounded a little like this. And those are three artists I like a lot by the way.

Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

THE MIGHTY MOCAMBOS – Spinning

Hamburg, Germany is home to the label Mocambo Records so we presume The Mighty Mocambos are something akin to the house band. That tradition would be a good fit considering their musical outlook. The band have been building a reputation in their determined quest to bring their Retro Soul and Funk sensibilities to a new sound and audience and currently have just shy of 30,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone. Equally in keeping with their ethos is that they appear to put out a lot of vinyl.

Described as funk on their Soundcloud page, Spinning is actually much more like a Soul throwback with vibrato organ, Motown-style drums, Staxy horns and choppy guitars accompanying a female vocal in a song that brings some traditional rock improv together with Old Skool Soul horn arrangements. It’s an intriguing and unexpected track, unashamedly 60s in essence, but they do this well with accomplished musicianship and songwriting skills.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

TROUSER DRESS – Old Soul

Self-described as ‘Folk-Pop loser with too many thoughts and not enough time’, Hull’s Carden L Mucklin is Trouser Dress and they are a ukulele and guitar-toting singer-songwriter. They are getting out and about live while also posting some entertaining and intriguing content on Instagram and TikTok. The lyrics to Old Soul reflect the contrasting things others allegedly have to say about Carden and the confusion they cause at times. It certainly suits the edgy, earthy quality of the track.

From the outset, the distinctive timbre of the ukulele grabs my attention and Carden’s vocals are also individual and expressive. The song sits in a single arpeggio pattern while the melody is scale-based. As it develops, more sounds join in with some lovely strings in harmony and great stop-start moments. The harmony vocals in a call and response are really effective. It is essentially a ‘round’ (yes, as in Frere Jacques) but one that is intricately arranged and full of ideas. Definitely one of the most striking tracks in this week’s list.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

YUR MUM – Snakes Don’t Fly (Featuring Myura Amara)

The ever joyful Yur Mum first made the faves back in 2019 (when I was also the reviewer that week) and they have been regularly featured in my Trust The Doc blog ever since. The pair make an unbelievably full-blooded and satisfying noise with fuzzy Bass Guitar, Drums and Vocals and their touring itinerary is always impressive. They did have a guitarist (Akos) but they have been a duo for some time. Right now, they are in the midst of a tour that continues into early September. Their album Duality was released last year and they have had support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Spotify editorials. Bass Guitarist and vocalist Annelise talks, on the band’s website, about how she and drummer Fabio fuse together their different musical and cultural backgrounds to create something unique. They have, in the past, described their music in many ways including ‘road rage rock’ and ‘dirty rock’. Contemporary Punk might be another tag but they have their own distinctive sound.

Snakes Don’t Fly sees Yur Mum collaborating with Myura Amara (Polly Pick Pocketz) whose voice blends perfectly with that of Annelise as their snappy harmonies adorn arguably the catchiest track of the week. Snakes Don’t Fly is the perfect composite of raw driving punky energy (albeit played with great expertise) and a tune that grabs me by the ears from the outset. This is music to lift your spirits; a no-holds-barred sugar rush of anthemic Punk Pop that is hard as nails. An absolute banger to round off another fine week.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Linktree

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.