Every week the team individually pick tracks that make up the listening post but there are always “ones that got away”.

These are the alternative picks and some words by our moderators on each one. You can find the tracks in one playlist here.

Artists featured this week:

DILLY JOE
BROTHER DOLLY
DAME FAWN
MIN-t
NFU
THE RUTAN
JACK GOODALL
CIVIL VILLAINS
YURII SHER
GARFIELD & NICO
FREND
SABRE DANCE
CELESTIAL SKIES
HUARINAMI
MATT ZEREK
DLINA VOLNY
ROLEPLAY
NELLA

ALAN DREEZER:

DILLY JOE – EXPENSIVE

This groovy slice of Pop/RnB with its pulsing synths is a real winner.

BROTHER DOLLY – AS I FALL I FEEL LIVE

The excellent production complimented by some masterful falsetto vocals make this impossible to ignore.

DEL OSEI-OWUSU/PLATINUMMIND:

DAME FAWN – Losing My Mind

I actually spoke to Dame Fawn about this track when they submitted it, as the first time I heard it was in 1989 when Liza Minnelli and the Pet Shop Boys covered it for her Results album and turned it into a big electronic masterpiece. They performed it on Wogan and brought along their live set up a whole rack of synths and sequencers proving that they could perform “live” and for us synth enthusiasts back then it was basically synth porn. Anyway this is a cover version of a song from Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, and DAME FAWN did a fab job in this performance. It’s dramatic, and soars with each listen.

MIN-t Before The After

I’ve actually got an interview with MIN-t coming up this week, watch out for that! I like the breakbeat aspect of this, it’s in your face, and she’s not afraid to get loud very quickly.

GRUBBY:

NFU – TATOOED STREET

Full of ideas, with crazy sounds and an explosive energy. The vocals, soaked in reverb, sound like they’ve travelled from the 80’s. It’s slightly overwhelming – in the best way!

THE RUTAN – ENLIGHTENED ONE

Like a strange dream, sounds and voices drift in and out like the tides. I had no idea where it would go next. Love it!

JOHN MICHIE:

JACK GOODALL – Mama, I’m A Beetle

Really unusual track that flicks between bombastic late-1970s new wave rock-outs and sweeping orchestrated passages. The whole thing feels unstable in the best possible way… Part art-pop mini-opera.

CIVIL VILLAINS – Never Felt Better

Opening intimately with electric guitar and a restrained vocal, it is not long before the song detonates into something far more volatile. Abrasive, punk vocals lash out with barely contained frustration. The music twists through some great rhythmic changes as well.

NEIL MARCH:

YURII SHER – Distances

Ambient chords appear and then melt away, adding to the appropriately distant atmosphere while rolling piano and soft synths punctuate the main themes. Characteristically enigmatic and intriguing.

GARFIELD & NICO – Find Another Way

Norwich Folk duo veer into classical waters at times with this mellow mystical track that mixes vocals with extended piano chords, mild dissonances and some pipe-like sounds that bring a Celtic air too. They pack a lot of invention into 3 minutes and 18 seconds of music.

SHARON PEARCE:

FREND – Spell Of The Stars

A dreamy alt-pop track with an immersive, atmospheric feel and subtle indie electronic influences. The intimate, vulnerable vocals add emotional closeness, while the lyrics feel romantic and dreamlike.

SABRE DANCE – Alive

An energetic track with a vibrant, uplifting feel and strong melodic hooks throughout. The anthemic chorus gives it an engaging, feel-good energy, while orchestral touches add depth and a fuller, more expansive sound.

Sheena Cameron

CELESTIAL SKIES – Cancel Culture

A playful satirical pop song that cleverly reworks the loaded phrase ‘cancel culture’ to call out a more specific practice of social cancelling. The tempo is buoyant, the instrumental hooks are memorable and the wit is enhanced with a timely ‘thank you’ refrain and echoing backing vocal.

HUARINAMI – All That Jazz

I like how this track balances energy and tension, opening with intriguing but unsettling tones before launching into an indie-rock groove driven by edgy distorted guitar and softened by dream-pop atmospherics. Throughout, Pauline’s vocal remains steady and hypnotic, reflecting the emotional unease of the lyrics.

SHERRY SAHAYARAJ:

MATT ZEREK – No Rush

No rush leans into that name perfectly. The floaty, rhythmic pulse running gives the whole track a breezy, beachy sunset vibe. It’s dancy and groovy, not heavy but super relaxed energy.

DLINA VOLNY – Bliss

This track has a cold, dreamy atmosphere with very magnetic vocal parts. The synths and textures give the whole track a floating late-night kind of feeling, more like escaping reality.

TONY HARDY:

ROLEPLAY – True Spring

I love the production on this song and how Roleplay’s dreamy vocal carries real uplift yet with an undernote of reflection. I’d describe it as quiet euphoria; a dance-ready track equally suited to chill out to. Roleplay could also be a sister act to Self Esteem.

NELLA – Weightless

Having only just recovered from being battered into submission by oversinging on Eurovision 26, Nella reminds us that this is how to sing a big song. She gives a beautifully controlled vocal performance from moments of calm contemplation through to the song’s climactic closure.