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.

A word from Del: Thanks to everyone who submitted tracks last week, top calibre as always! If you want your tracks to be considered for airplay on my Exile FM show, please send me an email to del.owusu@gmail.com with your bio and audio files. Clean radio edits only. Also, please read Neil’s comprehensive guide about how we put together the reviews, trying track down artist information is a pain, please have mercy on us poor moderators and provide the relevant information on your soundcloud and/or socials. Thankyou!

So the clocks have gone back, let’s get the hot chocolate out!

Hot chocolate hot? Oui.
Headphones charged? Si.
Four lit and in the green.

Let’s go.

10TIGERS – NO MOTHER

Well now! According to my calculations, this act made the faves waaaaaaaaaay back in 2014. So we’re going old school! Back then FOTN founder Tom Robinson reviewed them. 11 years ago! They’ve even got his review in their bio.

Wow.

This starts off with a Middle Eastern influenced violin melody, and then the percussion drops in, laying down rapid fire rhythms – the distorted bass gives the track even more character, but what caught my attention was the vocals provided by Jonathan De’Ath, a multi instrumentalist according to 10Tiger’s Apple Music credits for this song. He switches between the low growl in the verse and turns it up in the chorus, I wonder what this would sound like live? Given that 10Tigers is a collective this could be something special!

This song powers ahead with its rhythms, and I reckon that’s what made it do so well on the listening post this weekend.

Welcome back 10Tigers.

According to their soundcloud:

10Tigers is an art punk collective of music and poetry featuring contemporary musicians and artists, featuring Johnny De’Ath on vocals and drums, words by poet Daisy Shields, bass by painter Luke Hannam of cult punk-funk band Gramme, guitars by colourist Simon Hutchinson, and percussion by the legendary Basil Isaacs.

Instagram | Facebook| Bandcamp

B OF BRIZ – A Spark In Your Heart

B Of Briz is easily one of my favourite discoveries since joining the team 5 years ago. I mean, she gave me “What Will Buffy Do?” making me recall a zero budget tv show from the 1990’s that’s a cult hit.

Anyway, she makes a welcome return to the faves with her track “A Spark In Your Heart”, a song that speaks of fierce loyalty, it’s an alt hip hop love song in her own words, but I think it’s more than that, she’s letting you know what kind of friend she can be, she provides will be a source of comfort and a safe space for you.

Through this lyric, she promises to love and protect, and with this I say she’s the kind of friend you need in your corner.

Music-wise, this song is based around a solid beat, fast paced hi-hats, a quirky baseline, a kick drum – possibly two one pitched up in place of a snare, and an accordion and piano to finish it off.

Fabulous.

It’s funny, Neil and I have mused as to who B Of Briz really is, I like the fact she keeps her identity hidden I even said to her that I thought she could be our local MP or someone highly placed in government which she found amusing. I like the fact that she keeps her identity hidden, it keeps the mystery about her.

She’s probably my next door neighbour.

That would be hilarious.

She’s not though, but she’s a rapper and producer from Bristol, she makes philosophically inclined feminist alternative hip hop.

This track gets my chef’s kiss.

This is from her fabulous EP “Solace” out now.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

DOLLY MAVIES – In Your Head

Dolly Mavies is an artist who last made the faves back in 2018! This track is atmospheric, it starts off with a fade up with drums building on toms, it sets the tone perfectly as Dorothy’s voice comes in – I like her tone, very pleasing to the ear. This talks about a dream state, and being inside your head, which matches up nicely within the construct of this track.

My interpretation is that this is a song about wanting to get away from reality, which is pretty apt nowadays, I think it’s important as artists we voice our truth and Dolly Mavies has done this here.

Dolly describes herself as a post folk artist who’s making cinematic landscapes and poetic lyrics charting the rise and falls of life.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube

EROTIC SECRETS OF POMPEII – Zygote

Looks like Bristol is where the action is at this week, this next one from Erotic Secrets Of Pompeii is full of theatrics as you’d expect from a band whose name draws just as much intrigue as Banksy’s true identity.

The thing that stands out to me most is the vocals, over fuzzy guitars and a loose Bossa nova almost slowed drum n bass rhythm, this has such an unnerving delivery but I like it anyway. The way it switches up in the chorus really works, you hear a big hit of a tom, add to that some hidden gems of backing vocals and you have a track that’s just perfect for Halloween even though the theme is as far away from that as you can get.

According to ESOP’s soundcloud, this is from their album Pitchfork Libra. The record celebrates ritual and transgression; creativity and hope; death, rebirth and the ongoing struggles of the human condition… and is a low-key tribute to Jack Parsons: 20th-century occult legend, rocket engineer & sex magician who was instrumental in taking mankind into space.

Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Bandcamp

EVA CAVE – Driftwood

Time to go off in a dream like state with this gorgeous track from Eva Cave, the guitar tone on this is exquisite, there are layers to this. What do I mean? Well for one thing, you’re made to lie down and listen to the sounds of the ocean, hidden within this is an electric piano tone, as well as ride cymbal coming in and out changing between one hit to cymbal washes… It’s so gentle the whole track just leaves you with an inner sense of peace, then it just cruelly ends!

There isn’t much information about Eva online, a google search turned up the fact that she’s a classically trained guitarist who writes and produces her own music from her bedroom.

Official | Instagram | Twitter/X | YouTube | Bandcamp

JUICE POPS – Heavyweight Champion

This track starts off lowkey and moody, but it balances out with atmospheric vocals, I like the guitar work on this, it’s all panned to the left and right and puts you right in the middle! I like that, I’ve always maintained a good mix can make or break a song.

I could be wrong but I think they’ve doubled up the bass on this – one playing the one note played throughout the song, then an octave up the bassline is playing something more melodic, this is literally the definition of guitar led music and it’s done so well! Lyrically, it made me think of a concept I hadn’t thought about in a long time – advanced storytelling – there’s no exposition in the lyrics, it puts you slap bang in the middle of the story:

“I’m a heavyweight champion
It means everything to me

I’m an unknown ocean with a forward motion
For nobody else to see
For nobody else but me

In the back of a taxi when the vision attacked me
It took everything from me
It changed everything I see.”

It made me ask questions – what happened in that taxi? What kind of trauma if anything would have caused the inspiration for this song? It’s probably not that deep but it definitely made me want to go back and listen again.

According to their spotify: Juice Pops are a quartet from Manchester, they’ve been together since 2018, this is from their forthcoming album Living Books.

Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

MY LIFE AS A MOTH – Hyenas

The count off is quiet but the groove on the drums diabolical work…

I love it.

This song combines soul grooves with a bit of an indie flavour, the vocals switch between being sung to spoken word, in fact I’d say it’s more spoken word than anything else – I wonder what Retropxssy would make of this?

The instrumental lineup is pretty sweet, laden with a bit of reverb, so it gives the whole song a real live feel. There’s a synth solo as well which I didn’t expect, and it is passed through effects to give it an otherworldly feel, it is very haunting, and it stays with you!

My Life As A Moth is a great name by the way. She is a poet and musician, and has been championed by BBC 6 Music and Absolute Radio as well as playing The Lower Third In Soho.

Instagram | Facebookas | Twitter/X

STEVIE – Tango

This week’s faves are packed with catchy grooves! I like the way the rhythm bounces on this, it switches from a straight up soul beat to straight down the line 4/4 groove. It just makes you want to dance and given the name of the track, that makes sense.

But then it’s not a tango! Lyric wise this song is about a relationship that’s on the edge of falling apart and Stevie is urging her partner to rethink their ways, it’s an old relationship so it’s territory that they’ve gone over. It’s at breaking point so Stevie is wanting to take back control and making sure that the relationship is back on track.

This track makes you think, as well as dance, a great combo!

Stevie’s from south London, some of us might know her as MYTBE I actually interviewed her a few years ago, it made me smile to see this as I hadn’t heard from her in a looooooong while!

Instagram | Facebook

THE DEEP BLUE – Porcelain

I’m not sure what it is about The Deep Blue that I love, but they’ve had my heart since the release of their song “Somebody’s Daughter”, the vocal arrangement on that was just exquisite!

Now they’re back with “Porcelain” and this is another song that just touches the soul. They bring their unique sound to this with the close harmonies where you don’t know where one ends and the next singer begins. The bit that made me punch the air is at 3:03 where the chorus ends and they have this little a cappella bit it cemented the my initial instinct – not only will it do well at the listening post it’s also my track of the week.

Thankyou so much for sending this to us. Thankyou thankyou thankyou. The Deep Blue are from Manchester, and describe themselves as a harmony heavy girlband that make noise.

No no no. They are more than just that.

Way more than just that.

Looking at their pictures they’re living their best life! Exposure on BBC News, enjoying love on BBC Introducing, right now they’re sailing high!

Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

TOM O C WILSON – Armchair (feat. Duncan Wallis)

In a week full of stunning tracks we have one to close out that blew my mind with its sheer audacity.

What do I mean?

This combines quirky pop with tasty synths – I’m getting the feeling that it might be 80s vintage along with a guitar solo that’s disorienting because of the fact that the drums go out of phase in the space time continuum. Having heard this on Neil March’s show last week, the comments about this happening went down a treat it’s very subtle so that’s what throws you off – that kind of subtlety should be celebrated.

For that Tom OC Wilson is my one to watch.

Tom describes himself as an art pop auteur from London who combines a nostalgia for classic pop with sounds as yet unheard.

Official | Instagram | 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.