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

ANYA VINCENT – Money

We start this week’s Faves on the money. Paisley, Scotland native and first time Fave, Anya Vincent is a relative newcomer as a solo recording artist in her own right. “Money” is just her second release, following a debut single, “Catfight”, in September this year. That said, she began releasing music collaboratively while still at school, aged 16. Anya cites pop and R&B influences from the likes of George Michael, Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder alongside the traditional Irish music scene in Glasgow she grew up with.

In the spirit of the socially-conscious 90’s work of Lauryn Hill and George Michael, she takes a pop with “Money” at the culture of greed, exercising a soulful delivery with a touch of old school about it. Indeed, the vocal layers and intersecting harmonies give the track the feel of 90’s girl bands and add some dynamics to a song that extends beyond 3-minute radio friendliness. From a demo recorded in her bedroom, the track has been realised as polished pop with the aid of LA-based co- producer Jordan Lawlor and audio engineer Kevin Burleigh in Glasgow. A truly transatlantic affair.

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AUSTEL – The Beach In December

A Fresh Fave in January 2024, Austel is the moniker of London-based artist Annie Rew Shaw who originates from Devon and carries a certain folk sensibility you often associate with the West Country. After experiencing life as a session and touring musician and releasing two of her own EPs, she went on to self-produce her debut full-length record in 2024, Dead Sea; an album noted for its emotive piano songs exploring loss, recovery and transformation.

Topically titled, “The Beach In December” sees Austel musing on the premature end to a promising relationship with the location also evoking some memories of childhood. It is the first release from new material centred around the guitar and encompassing subtly employed field recordings, in this case naturally from Brighton beach. Solo or deftly layered to great effect, Austel’s relaxed vocal glides through the song with regret and reflection inbuilt into its characterful ebbs and flows. The sense of fleeting charm is palpable in a song that genuinely takes you there.

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COSIGN – BOYHOOD

I’ll let you into a secret. Totally fed up with X-cesses, I finally opened an Instagram account at the weekend. Ah, a good way to find out stuff about artists who enter FOTN. Right… possibly? In contrast to our first two Faves this week whose links were easily accessed, Cosign’s Insta page only took me to a mailing list and a Bandcamp page. Here I found out that Fresh Faves newbie Cosign is from Belfast and that’s about it. It would be nice to know a bit more but maybe that’s the mystery of it all.

Actually, I should have added that Bandcamp did reveal “Boyhood” to be one of four tracks from Cosign’s EP, Remember When It’s Over, which came out a couple of weeks ago. The song has an enigmatic aura to it, beautifully immersive as is so much of the best electronic music, with lyrics that positively reflect on past times. The singer could of course be Cosign but whatever the truth the way the vocal, multi-tracking and delicate use of vocoder effects mesh is a work of love. I found elements of the song that called to mind Cocteau Twins or more specifically, the 2014 collaboration of Simon Raymonde and Stephanie Dosen in Snowbird. A high bar indeed.

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DARKSTATES X GLÜCKSKIND – Single Cell

New to Fresh Faves too is the collaboration between Darkstates and Gluckskind, heralded by the former (yes, on Instagram) as the “first of 5 new tracks coming your way.” North London producer/vocalist/songwriter strong>Darkstates primarily uses analogue synths and acoustic instruments to build his electronic soundscapes. A dance music dimension is added via the alliance with Amsterdam-based Gluckskind on this new track.

“Single Cell” opens comparatively starkly with Darkstates’ earnest, questioning vocal before embracing greater urgency as it heads towards dance territory with great assurance. The analogue layers and organic sounds combine to reach a fervent peak. In an interview with London-based arts website, Secret Eclectic, Darkstates commented on the idea behind the song the he “was thinking about things like how people tend to isolate themselves most when they need help, and how small things can end up impacting people in ways they didn’t expect.”

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FROM APES TO ANGELS – Fuji Egg

Next to an act clearly in it for the long haul, having been Fresh Faved all the way back in 2017. The origins of synthwave duo, From Apes To Angels, predate that by two years although a debut album was not finally unleashed until 2020. After this a certain pandemic might have put things on hold a wee while but the London via Sheffield pairing of vocalist Millie Gaum and Andrew Brassleay on synths and production is back with some fresh collaborators and a brand new long player.

Whether From Apes To Angels is a band name inspired by anthropology, the jury is out. What is certain is that the 80’s leaning synth riff that opens “Fuji Egg” is pure earworm. The track is from the band’s recently released album, Grace Fall, and it really is a game of two halves with a mid-tempo vibe giving way to a climactic instrumental builder. The vocals are sweet and anchor things nicely in the verses. I’m not quite sure I can quite decipher it lyrically but the tune has embedded itself so well I look forward to joining a discussion group.

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GABY DUBOISJOLI X OKUBI – Je Veux Ton Feu

Now, a past Eclectic Picks but Fresh Faves newcomer with an exquisite name. Gaby Duboisjoli describes herself as a singer, songwriter, performer, lover and host of a weekly radio show, The Velvet Curtain. Her self-styled ‘electro-cabaret-pop’ welds the pulse of modern electronica to glamorous nighttime theatrics. A French native, now living in Málaga, Spain after spending two decades in London, Gaby’s style is aptly summed up on her website with this press quote: “All the presence of Villanelle with a voice and sound of 60s Rive Gauche…”

For “Je Veux Ton Feu”, Gaby has teamed up with former death metal bassist, now analogue synth pioneer ŌKUBI to deliver what she describes as “a beautiful, undiluted trip-hop banger.” With a sultry vocal employed initially with a suggestion of detachment, the fire is soon stirred. You don’t need to brush up your French GCSE or turn to Google translate to decipher the lyric sentiments here. It’s all-consuming passion, simmering, brought steadily to the boil and poised to overflow. She wants your fire.

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LYLO GOLD – Found Love

The next song from Fresh Faves first timer Lylo Gold received the week’s highest number of votes from FOTN readers. The singer-songwriter from East London works with a broader palette, not wishing to be simply labelled as an R&B singer. She collaborated with rapper Nines on “Weedman” from his 2023 album Crop Circle 2 and has her own healthy listener count on Spotify as an independent artist. Her songwriting talents have seen her travel abroad to write K-Pop tracks, garner credits on DDG’s latest album and record with Barrington Levy.

“Found Love” is from her recently released Lylo Land EP, her first collection since debuting in 2018 with Heartache & Wrav. She has a sweet, smooth vocal tone with jazz inflections, not miles from, say, Lianne La Havas or Sade while the song has a very positive self-awareness vibe to it. Aided by a subtle groove decorated with guitar and synths, it seems to come from a place of real contentment as the title suggests. The line “everything is better with your love” brings it all together.

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MONDO FREAKS – Pumped

Funk now – all the way down under from Melbourne. Mondo Freaks may well be a familiar name to FOTN readers, having been faved in July this year. The 10-strong collective was formed by bassist Luke Hodgson and drummer Graeme Pogson (not sure why those surnames rhyme), born of a deep love of late 70’s and early 80’s funk. The band boasts no less than five vocalists and has toured Australia to back Leroy Burgess, aka the Boogie King, and Evelyn “Champagne” King.

In the band’s own right, Mondo Freaks purveys a sound very true to the era its founding duo really cherishes. From the self-titled album released in October, “Pumped” rides a gamut of instrumental dexterity with a fluid bass and percussion, melodic topline vocals and great harmonies. There’s a Village People style chant midway through leading to a spiky syncopated keyboard solo and a chilled coda. It all adds up to a celebration you want to be a part of.

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QUEEN COLOBUS – Flare

Flying the FOTN standard for eclecticism next is London-based quartet, Queen Colobus who bring flavours of jazz allied to intricate rock rhythms. The band is led by Beth Hopkins on vocals and saxophone (not at the same time, lol), together with guitarist Morgan Rickman, Will Heaton on bass and Adam Skinner on drums. The band name, I believe, comes from a species of Old World monkey called King Colobus, adapted to Queen to reflect a female-led outfit. You can find 3 EPs on Bandcamp released over the last 5 years.

“Flare” is from Queen Colobus’ 5-track Dandelion EP released last week. The song has a ternary structure, opening with a bass phrase picked up and amplified by guitar and then extended by saxophone until Beth’s searching vocal kicks in with words suggesting complete overwhelm, tempered by a repeated “calm yourself” plea. The Math rock feel gives way to a maelstrom of a mid-section before picking up the main theme again. A technically clever yet always emotive song. And did I hear a cello somewhere in there?

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WHITE LABEL – Something About You

We close with White Label, another Faves first-timer. I might know a bit about white label marketing but a blank SoundCloud page and several Google searches later I was still pretty clueless as to the identity of this particular White Label. Ah, great there’s a Spotify page but in the ‘About’ section it just says ‘I never thought I’d make you smile.’ Enigmatic, eh? Now there’s a White Label in Berlin but that’s the wrong one. Finally, I find the UK White Label on Instagram and YouTube but still no bio.

So, White Label is a band or a musical artist with a band and it has played live in London and Reading. “Something About You” opens with two-note guitar giving way to a plaintive high vocal searching for answers about someone close. The guitar figure returns in the background and the track builds in intensity with shards of guitar adding to the tension. A soulful blend of pop and indie rock in need of a label?

Instagram

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.