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.

A word from Del: Hey everyone, welcome to another batch of tracks! You’re more than welcome to submit a track to my radio show on exile fm by dropping me an email with a bio and audio file to del.owusu@gmail.com – clean radio edits only.

Onto you Tony.

ALICE. – I Love You More

Alice Offley’s affair with Fresh On The Net goes back to 2015 when she first graced the Faves in the guise of Alice & The Lovers. Since then, the Swindon native has made a number of appearances here, mostly as a solo artist. Her musical CV is as impressive as they come. It now seems she has now dropped the surname in favour of Alice. (as in Alice full stop). I thank her for not taking the vowels out – an unfortunate trend in branding that has crept into music despite bombing in financial services, as anyone who remembers Abrdn may concur.

New moniker or not, there is much that is familiar in a good way to “I Love You More”. Wanting more from a relationship is habitual songwriter territory but Alice attacks her subject with her customary verve. Alice’s vocals have a soulful undertone and the song has a distinct 60s feel to it; classic pop, bouncy, irresistible hook and highly danceable. Towards the end, the little shrieks Alice gives out towards the end of the track cues in a short guitar solo and a late get-the-party-started coda that you feel sure will be extended when played live.

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AMA SLOXX – Uno

New to Fresh Faves, Ama Sloxx introduces herself on SoundCloud as of Greco-Hispanic, Egyptian and indigenous heritage offering Art-Pop Noir – a voice in the light, a performer in the shadows. This all sounds suitably mysterious. Digging deeper, she has a single post on Instagram and just this song on SoundCloud. The only other clue is that Ama is based in Belfast. I had detected an Irish lilt to her voice – I guess this explains the use of indigenous. The rabbit hole thankfully closed before I could ponder the semantics around native and indigenous.

The glass cleared further once I found a brief review of her song “Uno” in the Irish culture and music publication, Hot Press. Ama seems to have taken a leaf from Sia’s book and wishes to stay anonymous this time by covering her face with masks. “Uno” is her debut single and is inspired by her multicultural background; something you can quickly detect in her choice of instrumentation and the folk melody lines. Ama’s voice balances the otherworldly in tone with surprisingly muscular passages. The song provides an impressive and powerful antidote to human division.

Instagram

LEMONADE SHOELACE – Forget To Remember

We stay in Belfast for Ruairí Richman aka Lemonade Shoelace, self-described as a ‘psychedelic music project’ (thanks again, SoundCloud). His music and ethos seem very akin to those US bedroom purveyors of DIY sounds I used to come across in the days I wrote for Consequence (of Sound, as it was called in my day). Looking further I find that Ruairi does indeed write, record and produce everything himself from a tiny home studio. And he makes a great fist of it.

First freshly faved in February 2024 (that enough of the f for you?), Lemon Shoelace returns with a song titled “Forget To Remember”. He begins on the backfoot lyrically confessing to serial forgetfulness (“What did I forget this time?”) and bemoaning the effect it’s having on a relationship before turning things more into a spirited edge of break-up conversation. Musically the layering gives the track a cinematic air and the song is full of quirky touches including what seem to be backwards vocals towards the end and a string of sung ba-bas that sound like instruments. There are hints of late Beatles, Tame Impala and even Mercury Rev here. Lemon Shoelace has certainly learned to do his own up.

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MAYA LAW & FREYA ROY – Tall Tales

It’s almost six years since the pairing of Maya Law & Freya Roy appeared as Fresh Faves; in that case as a Freya Roy track featuring Maya who, in turn, has appeared in the Faves herself both in her own right or through different collaborations. Suffolk-born singer-songwriter and producer Freya Roy has worked with across a range of genres spanning soul, jazz, R&B and pop. Neo-soul singer-songwriter Maya Law with an East Anglian connection too with roots in Norwich. Her songs portray life as a queer woman with a relatable frankness.

“Tall Tales” is the first single from the pairing’s forthcoming EP, due for release on 1 May. Maya has a rich deep voice which soars to the higher notes with consummate ease with what appears to be Freya adding some choice harmonies and echoed words. Crisp drums underpin everything, pausing now and then for handclaps. The instrumentation from piano to guitars add warmth and flavour. A lyrical put-down – “Oh what a shame that you ain’t got no body” – is delivered with panache by two entirely accomplished artists.

MAYA LAW

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FREYA ROY

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MIMIKA ORCHESTRA – Night Dance

The strength of this week’s Inbox and subsequent Listening Post was underlined by the broad spread of votes from readers. There were just 2 votes between first and tenth with Mimika Orchestra one of 4 acts tied for top spot. The 20-strong Croatian ensemble was faved here in May 2025 but my further research was somewhat hampered by the choice of orange lettering over a blue background image for the band’s website bio page. Following a trip to Specsavers though, I can reveal that Mimika Orchestra was put together in London in 2010 by Croatian multi-instrumentalist/composer Mak Murtić and vocalist Maja Rivić and is currently based in Zagreb.

The music spans progressive and avant-garde jazz with an underpinning from Balkan folk traditions, blending its modes and rhythms in a contemporary jazz fusion. “Night Dance” is from the 2025 album Medzotermina and it feels part of a concept album. Beginning acapella in folk vein, the track quickly escapes into Gershwin-esque territory which for me conjures up city bustle and traffic (this could be totally off) as the brass kicks in. It is a highly listenable piece as you are never quite sure where it is going next, whether into vocal passages or occasionally atonal territory.

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NÉOMÍ – Didn’t I

First faved last October, Dutch/Surinamese singer-songwriter Neomi Speelman performs under the guise of néomí. (all lower case but vowels… yes!) In her bio she says that music was not an obvious path growing up in Zwijndrecht, an industrial town just outside Rotterdam, although it was always a presence at home. Hearing her mother singing around the house and listening to her father’s Dylan, Stones and Beatles records made its mark and she started piano lessons, though it was years later when she took up the guitar inspired by a live video of Ben Howard performing “Old Pine”.

That musical encouragement at home has certainly rubbed off on néomí. Her small vocal inflections and layered harmonies remind me of Joni Mitchell and there is troubadour feel to her music. “Didn’t I” showcases her lush, smooth vocal tone peppered with vulnerability. It’s time to let go as she muses on the inevitability of the kind of love that goes wrong, like it probably should not have happened in the first place. The song is delivered with grace and the tension it brings is marvellously mirrored by the surrounding instrumentation.

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OLIVIA MICELI – Friday The 13th

Third time Fresh Fave Olivia Miceli is equally deserving of a return to these columns. Olivia is a classic DIY independent artist who writes, records and produces all her music from her bedroom studio. From her Midlands base, she has reached out to find favour via national stations such as BBC 6 Music, but also being recognised internationally across America, Italy and Australia. Olivia’s ethos seems to revolve very much around the power of music to connect with people in a manner that is open and easily relatable.

Olivia Miceli has cast superstition aside by releasing her song, “Friday The 13th” on the same day, although messaging that “getting your heartbroken on Friday 13th seems pretty unlucky.” Paraskevidekatriaphobia be dammed, though, as this heartbreaker is played for real. Originally conceived as a minimal piano ballad, Olivia has embellished the song with production building in the bridge and choruses. The song’s lilting waltz time melody decorated by Olivia’s sweetly sad vocal combines to form a bittersweet classic.

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SAER – Say How You Feel

Like Olivia, Birmingham singer-songwriter, producer and musician Simon Davies aka SAER is here for the third time. The connection continues beyond the Midlands as his musical journey started at home filled at an early age with inspiration coming from his brother’s guitar playing, his mother’s piano skills and a collection of Beatles albums. His musical moniker ties in with Simon’s Welsh roots and being Welsh for carpenter reflects a hands-on and crafted approach to musical creation.

“Say How You Feel” opens with a mournful trumpet (oh, I do love a mournful trumpet) but soon turns into a vocal tour-de-force as Saer gives full reign to his considerable pipes, rising and falling with emotive beauty. His falsetto reach is as impressive as it is natural and the musical arrangement that surrounds it is organic and perfectly chosen. As the song title underlines, Saer entreats his muse not to bottle things up, be open, be honest. It is all so carefully woven that it is difficult not to be entranced by the whole thing, despite some harsh truths being told.

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THE TRUSTED – Spin

It is now outing number 4 for Southend four-piece The Trusted on Fresh Faves. Coincidentally I reviewed “Spin” on my site last week having unashamedly championed the band for some time. It’s great to see that the largely DIY indie band is finally getting some much-deserved mainstream recognition. Last summer saw festival appearances both at Lazydays on home turf and away at Latitude where a certain prophesy that one day crowds would be singing back their words in a festival field somewhere was finally fulfilled. A September live session in Chelmsford for Jo Whiley’s BBC Radio 2 show ahead of Radio 2 in the Park added more icing to an enriched cake.

“Spin” maintains the high standard of singles released by The Trusted. It’s a musical sugar rush, encompassing much of what constitutes the band’s signature sound: chiming guitars, pacy rhythms, potent melody lines, measured verses leading to dynamic choruses, searching lyrics, a sense that this band puts heart and soul into its music and lives it for real. In “Spin”, lyricist and frontman Tom Cunningham’s ‘desperate appeal to mean something’ hits home to underline the emotional honesty you get from The Trusted. A future crowd pleaser for sure.

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TILLY VALENTINE – Tornado

Following The Trusted, we close the week with Tilly Valentine, another artist who in common with several other of this week’s Faves seems firmly to be here for the long haul. Coincidentally, I believe this is Tilly’s four time as a Fresh Fave too, going back to her debut single release in 2018. The Oxfordshire native moved to London aged 16 to enrol in the BRIT School, drawing influences from trip hop, jazz and R&B. Going on to work with producers from across Europe, Tilly has enjoyed support across BBC music stations and Jazz FM.

I came across Tilly’s music when she was longlisted in the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition in 2024 and admired her dedication to her craft which shines through in her new single, “Tornado”. An anthem for the anxious and anyone at risk of spiralling judgements, the chorus has a hint of The Spice Girls about it, while in the verses Tilly unwraps her fears of overthinking everything. All is played out over a dance pop soundtrack with a nice circular feel to it. I like the way the song closes with a cool, jazzy coda. Wasn’t expecting that.

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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.