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:

ASHLEY SLATER’S HEPTET
SIDEBANKS
THE DOPAMINE PROJECT
CONSTANT SUPPLY
DANIEL WEBSTER
THE EMPTY PAGE
BIG FRIGHT
GEOGRAPHY OF THE MOON
DARIUS OON
SHERRY & HOUSTON
DEN OF DOG
SABRE DANCE
SHARON LAZIBYRD
DJANGO DURRANT
COLM WARREN
ISQ

DEL OSEI-OWUSU/PLATINUMMIND:

ASHLEY SLATER’S HEPTET – Can I Sing A Song For You?

Ashley Slater is the voice behind Freak Power’s 1995 hit Turn On Tune In Cop Out, he’s just released a new album called This Is F**king Nice. As I write I’ve been reviewing it and this is my favourite track from the album. This is so smooth, his deep voice shows he’s still got it with the rich tones, and he brings a horn section and hammond organ to bear on this track. I will be playing tracks from the album in the coming weeks.

SIDEBANKS – Oh How I Tire

This track combines guitars with analogue synths and a very melodic bassline, the low vocals are really nice on this – I like the lofi vibe on this, and the phased synth that comes in and out.

GRUBBY:

THE DOPAMINE PROJECT – A GUIDING LIGHT

Tight and urgent – you might find it hard to sleep after hearing this one. A really unique, interesting sound. The layers keep coming as it descends into a digital world all its own.

CONSTANT SUPPLY – THE PITY PARTY

A rolling, slightly jazzy number with a punk edge. This is a real smorgasbord of styles and genres. Add in a characterful vocal, and you have a real winner!

JOHN MICHIE:

DANIEL WEBSTER – Fire Escapes

This is a shapeshifting song that moves through pulsing synths, shimmering guitars, and eclectic percussion… and everything else in-between. It feels like a late-night collision between psychedelic rock, dub, techno, and experimental electronics… full of tension and hypnotic grooves, yet still warm and deeply human.

THE EMPTY PAGE – A Feminine Ending

A slow-burning surge of menacing post-punk and tension that moves between control and collapse. Detached, hypnotic slowly building to raw, unflinching and eruptive emotion. The song navigates rejecting beauty standards and the pressure on women to stay young and “visible.” This song finds freedom, confidence, and peace by stepping away from those expectations.

PAUL KERR:

BIG FRIGHT – Supersonic Milk

Bristol-born Big Fright turns up to the party with a carton of volatility and shakes it like they want the whole room redecorated. Their latest track, Supersonic Milk, is a sticky, lactose‑fueled tantrum aimed squarely at the pop‑culture factory floor. It’s a witty, fizzing, brat‑punk stomp with guitars so sharp they could slice cheese, drums that pound like dairy farm machinery and vocals that oscillate between gloriously deadpan and deranged.

If you’re on the hunt for a feminist critique delivered with a water pistol full of spoiled semi‑skimmed, Big Fright delivers it by the bottleful.

GEOGRAPHY OF THE MOON – Stay Clear Stay Sharp

Stay Clear Stay Sharp is the latest communiqué from Glasgow duo Geography of the Moon. It’s a wiry, urgent, politically‑charged jolt that sounds like it was smuggled out of a basement rehearsal room during a blackout.

Guitars twitch and spark like exposed wiring, drum machines march with the cold efficiency of a curfew patrol, and vocalist Virginia Bones delivers her lines with a clipped, clear‑eyed conviction that makes the hairs on the back of your neck rise before you work out why. There’s no fat, no unnecessary adornment, just a tight, looping pulse and a warning disguised as a hook.

SHARON PEARCE:

DARIUS OON – Sense

A warm, upbeat love song with a dreamy, easygoing feel that captures the joy of natural connection.

SHERRY & HOUSTON – Hang Your Head High

With a reflective folk sound, this track leans into honest, story-like lyrics and understated melodic hooks, making it feel personal yet relatable, while the chorus adds a quietly uplifting reassuring touch.

Sheena Cameron

DEN OF DOG – Make Me

Picked for Fresh Faves earlier this year, this band has a knack for crafting highly melodic, upbeat indie pop-rock for thought-provoking, ironic love songs. There’s a lovely, light synth sparkling through the track, and it’s this electro-pop element that makes them distinctive, creating sounds inspired by their love of early video game soundtracks.

SABRE DANCE – Haven

A sophisticated dance track from Sabre Dance—high-pitched, high-energy, pure elation!

SHERRY SAHAYARAJ:

SHARON LAZIBYRD – Quand Je Vois Le Monde

Quand Je Vois Le Monde translates to “ when i see the world” . The track is provocative in a way much needed for the world right now. I like how the vocal delivery satisfies the fierceness and mystery that is needed for the track.

DJANGO DURRANT – And I Love Her

I love how the vocals are soft and raw. The track is simple yet has a soft guitar plucking riff, which gives a special feel to the song.

TONY HARDY:

COLM WARREN – Without You

There is a sincerity and warmth about “Without You” that marks the song as a touching expression of familial love. The particularly lush orchestration wraps itself around Colm’s heartfelt vocal, adding to the richness of experience that the song affords.

ISQ – Animal

If you pardon the pun, “Animal” creeps up on you; a pleasant listen initially but a song that fully reveals itself the more you hear it. Combining evocative lyrics built around mothers and daughters, a soft jazz-infused vocal and midpoint an unexpected filigree guitar solo, it has a spacious, considered vibe to it.