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: 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: Mid-July and there have been scorching hot days over the past week. Fellow mod Sherry and I spent most of it touring with our band [The] Music Of Sound but, as I write this, I am home for a couple of days before our final date in Brighton. So it was good to be back live presenting my radio show yesterday evening and to have time to research the artists and delve into the tracks our amazing readers have chosen to be this weekend’s fresh faves. I have an ice cold drink and some fresh raspberries and blackberries. Time then to get stuck into the reviews.

EVE GOODMAN + SERA – Blodyn Gwyllt

Sera is Sarah Zyborska and she has been successfully making music in Welsh and English for over 20 years. Fellow Welsh artist Eve Goodman has been touring Wales and England over recent weeks and this is set to conclude in Wrexham in early August. Both have had BBC Introducing support and this is by no means their first collaboration.

It is one of my small regrets that, despite being from a Welsh family, I only know the tiniest amount of the language. But it always warms my heart to hear songs in Welsh, especially when they are executed as beautifully as Blodyn Gwyllt (which translates into English as Wild Flower). The resonating acoustic guitar chords provide the foundation on which the track is built as other sounds flicker and fly around them. The vocals and the melody are goosebumping, especially when Eve and Sarah are harmonising and I am inevitably transported back to seemingly endless childhood and teenage school holidays in Abercynon in the Welsh Valleys. A must-hear track.

Eve Goodman Instagram | Bandcamp

Sera: Official | Facebook | Twitter/X

FLAIR – City Lights

Glasgow’s Flair have been building quite a reputation for their melodic Indie Rock style and are currently in the midst of an impressive looking UK tour. They have been attracting indie media attention and they are proving the point that the way to build a fanbase is to get out there and play to as many new audiences as possible. The band say they fuse ‘… the melodic finesse of Wunderhorse and The War On Drugs with the raw edge of Fontaines DC’ which, I would say, is pretty much spot on.

City Lights opens with a reverberant arpeggio figure on the guitar that immediately grabs my attention. When the vocals come in, there is definitely a hint of Fontaines about it (just a hint, mind!) and the feel, from the outset, is epic. This is big, brash and joyfully tuneful with the band’s evident chemistry adding up to a sparkling Alt Rock bedrock upon which the vocals shine. It is easy to see why this polled so many votes. Uplifting and powerful.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

LILY ALMOND – Get What You Get

Liverpool’s Lily Almond has been supported by Dave Monks and the BBC Introducing team in Merseyside for whom she played a live session in November. Last month they put her on at the famous Cavern Club (where it all began for the Beatles in case you are too young to know!). She has also had airplay on BBC Radio 1. Exciting times then.

Get What You Get has a slightly bluesy undercurrent. Lily’s voice is distinctive and has a tough edge. Along with punchy production and a catchy little lead guitar riff that slides against the syncopated chords, it all contributes to the forward drive of the track. The lyrics are a no-holds-barred warning to any would–be lovers who don’t play fair. It is also very catchy and has a positive energy that really draws me in.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

MATT MEREPORT – Non Raedam Spatio (Feat. Elevator Icons)

I am very pleased to see North English composer and artist Matt Mereport in the fresh faves. He is someone I have reviewed several times in Trust The Doc. As you will see from the links below, he is not visible on much social media. I hope that will change so more people can interact with his music. He has some impressive streaming numbers on Spotify though so clearly people are discovering his work.

Non Raedem Spatio (feat. Elevator Icons) is a fascinating piece of work. It begins with spacy, echoing notes that make my ears prick up before legato tones begin to add a richness of texture and harmonic language. The vocals, put through a Daft Punk-style filter, build a strong hook around the developing instrumental backdrop before, midway through, everything speeds up and we are taken into a new area of shuffling, syncopated beat and intertwining synth tones. The aura is dreamlike and ambient, always keeping an eye on the melodic content. The whole track is lovingly crafted and expertly executed.

Twitter/X | Bandcamp

MUMBLE TIDE – The Blue

Bristol’s Mumble Tide have a 7-date UK tour lined up for the Autumn and released their debut album in May. They have been played by Emily Pilbeam on the BBC Introducing Mixtape show on BBC 6 Music. The duo have also been involved in helping to raise funds for medical support in Palestine. In March, they played the Ritual Union Festival in Bristol on a bill headlined by Billy Nomates.

The Blue kicks off with picking acoustic guitar and long wobbly synth tones. The alto range vocal is striking and expressive, instantly dominating the track. When the drums kick in, we get an intriguing mix of synth and folkiness before a heavenly glissando takes everything up into a chorus in the upper register [vocal-wise] that could almost be Mary In The Junkyard jamming with The Staves. This is original, fresh and beautifully performed.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

NAGRA – I See Colou

Nagra describe their music as ‘psychedelic math rock’. There are two of them in their profile pics but four of them in the live clip on Instagram. They have been playing the Also Festival in Warwickshire this very weekend. May saw them supporting Payric O’Meara at Paper Dress Vintage in Hackey, East London. Hopefully they will expand onto more social media platforms in the near future. There is a YouTube link but it is just the audio and the single cover.

I See Colour is built around busily interweaving guitars with a good deal of jangle over repeating, rhythmic bass and drums. The vocals have an air of Thom Yorke in a mash-up with Duncan Lloyd but the style of the song owes a lot to mid-80s Indie in that vaguely post-Postcard kind of a way. This is whimsical, melodic and has a refreshing earthiness and lo-fi quality that suits the mood of the track.

Instagram

SHAI BRIDES – Masseuse

It was me reviewing the last time Shai Brides made the fresh faves in April 2024. I noted then that they were getting amongst it on the live circuit and had produced a clever and amusing video. They were also picking up some great reviews. They have subsequently been playing some cool venues including Colours in Hoxton and Notting Hill Arts Club. Their Spotify profile claims they are ‘gone’ and their whereabouts remain a mystery (!) but, since this track was released last week, I suspect they are just fine!

Masseuse has a slightly frantic feel that matches the lyrical content about needing to relax and retain some control. The drums are very busy although not obtrusive. The melody is immediately engaging and the instrumental make-up grows gradually in a nuanced and layered way with an array of sounds, some quite quirky. There are some great, unexpected chord changes and the leap up into semi-falsetto around the hook is very effective. The overall feel is light-textured but full of little ideas that add to the sum of its parts. Refreshingly individual and invigorating.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

SUNFLOWER THIEVES – Say The Word

Leeds’ Sunflower Thieves have proved popular with Fresh on the Net readers and they are regulars in my Trust The Doc blog too. Childhood friends Amy and Lily have been blazing a trail for several years. This has seen them receive regular backing from BBC Introducing stretching to Radio 1, 2 and 6 Music as well as their local show, festival stages including this year’s inaugural SXSW UK and support to English Teacher at a Gaza fundraiser.

Now they return with Say The Word. In many ways, this is trademark Sunflower Thieves with shimmering guitars, Amy’s and Lily’s voices soft but assured, harmonising beautifully and delivering a melody that will lodge itself in your brain (well it did mine anyway!). The production allows the track to build in subtle layers so that it simultaneously feels quite tranquil and yet has an undeniable intensity. Top-notch as always.

Linktree | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp

TELEVISED MIND – Mind Over Matter

Lincoln’s Post-Punk ‘upstarts’ Televised Mind have played in-store at Rough Trade in Nottingham, had support from BBC Introducing in the East Midlands and have been getting out and about live. They have also had support from Amy Lame on BBC 6 Music. Hopefully they will be coming to a venue near you soon too.

Mind Over Matter has echoes of The Fall in a mash-up with Yard Act and a hint of Pozi maybe. Not that they sound especially like any of these bands. A gutsy male spoken word vocal is accompanied by fuzztone guitars, bass in open fiths and solid tight drums playing at high tempo. The chorus, if that is the right thing to call it, is instrumental and chord based while the guitar chugs away in the verses. Energetic and full-on with bags of attitude.

Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

THE DAYDREAM CLUB, EFTERLO – Empty Space

Duos seem to be the theme this week and so it is with Leicestershire’s The Daydream Club. Adam and Paula are joined here by Efterlo although I cannot find much information about the latter. They have had support from BBC Introducing and they have over 46K Spotify monthly listeners and huge streaming figures so clearly they have a formidable following.

Empty Space begins with slightly ethereal wordless harmonies over a shifting chord pattern. It feels slightly dark and minor key but, when Paula’s vocal kicks in properly, it is instantly distinctive, dexterous and demanding of our attention, fortified by lovely harmonies. Long synth tones have an edginess that contrasts the mellow electric piano chords. The track builds in a cinematic and intense manner, slightly eeerie voices repeating in the distance as the melody continues to occupy centre stage. Compelling listening to wrap up another fine week at the Fresh on the Net faves.

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

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.