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

A word from Del: Hey everyone, thanks to everyone who found time to come and vote on the listening post this weekend, and of course big thanks to the artists who shared their tracks with us. Just a couple of reminders: Now that you’ve made the faves please remember you cannot submit another track for 90 days. If you share this on social media, please make sure you tag the correct social media accounts, in this case Neil March wrote the reviews and his instagram account is @trustthedoc and the Fresh On The Net account is @fotnblog.

Finally, if you can, please support your fellow artists on the listening post, as some of the people who voted for you this week are also musicians themselves so please pay it forward.

Over to you Neil!

Neil: June is upon us although, given the insane hot sticky weather in the UK (or at least in London and most of England anyway!) over the past week, you could be forgiven for thinking it was already mid-July. Meanwhile, Fresh on the Net has a key part to play at the centre of developments in independent music; not just by filtering music for our readers to vote for and for us to review. Not just by periodically staging our festival Fresh on the Net Live when we are able to secure funding. We have a role to play in leading and contributing to important discussions about the future of the industry and how artists and those supporting them should be encouraged to navigate it. But we can do more for artists if we have as many people as possible engaging with us. So, if you know people who are bands or artists or are involved with others who are and equally, if you know people who love discovering new music that sits mainly outside the commercial pop mainstream, why not encourage them to vote at our Listening Post, comment on our articles, share their music etc. As this stellar ten tracks reminds us, there is so much talent out there. Help us to shine a light on as many artists as possible. Ok, time to review this weekend’s bumper crop.

ALAN DREEZER – Delusional

It is great to see our fellow FOTN mod Alan Dreezer in the faves. Alan, based in Eastbourne these days, has been patiently building a following for his brand of Electro-Pop infused with R’n’B, Dance and other influences and he has worked hard to run a crowdfunder campaign for the forthcoming album. In the meantime, Delusional has topped the radio request chart on South Devon Sound, had reviews from Tony Hardy in Fifty 3 Fridays and myself in Trust The Doc and I have been playing it on my show where yesterday one listener compared it to Prefab Sprout which, in any context imaginable, can only ever be the highest praise.

Delusional deals with a lot of the mental health pressures facing artists all the time – anxiety, self-doubt, burnout etc. – and places this highly relevant topic within a medium-fast paced and danceable Electro-Pop tune that is dreamy, slightly cinematic and soulful too. Alan’s vocals have real character and expression and the production is appropriately spacious and reverberant. Catchy as hell too.

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BARBARA – Isn’t She Strange!

Hove’s brothers Henry and John Tydeman are the founders and creative force behind serial fresh faves Barbara. The band, who supported Paul Weller on a recent tour, have been knocking on the door of major success and recognition for some time now and surely this must happen soon. Revered for the quality and sophistication of their retro pop style and accompanying musicianship, they have had support from BBC Introducing and, as I write this, have just concluded an 8-date UK tour that stretched from the English South Coast to Edinburgh in Scotland and from Bristol in the West of England to Cambridge in the East.

Isn’t She Strange! has all the Barbara trademarks. The chord structure is imaginative and clever. Harmonies are beautifully configured and expansive in sound. I hear echoes of Steely Dan, 10CC, Paul McCartney & Wings and even a hint of Hall & Oates. Yet they bring these legacy influences into their own fresh style and the quality of their writing is simply a bar higher than any of the other aspiring acts in that same broad ballpark. The Latinesque middle section is a typical twist in this tale of Pop excellence.

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CALLUM PITT – Ghosts Along The Coastline

Newcastle Upon Tyne’s Callum Pitt has a history of making the faves that stretches back to 2016! He has been busy in recent times too, having played an impressive UK tour in the Autumn and been gigging regularly. He was the recipient of a number of plays on the BBC 6 Music Introducing Mixtape Show when Tom Robinson was its presenter, the last time being in 2023. He also found time to run a marathon in late 2024! Incidentally he released a track in 2017 that has amassed over 2 million streams.

Ghosts Along The Coastline begins with a capella harmonies setting out a strong folk-infused statement of intent, giving us the hook from the outset but, as instruments begin to appear, the mood changes and, when the full-time beat kicks in and the guitars begin to jangle and sparkle, we are suddenly in Sam Fender territory, a kind of uptempo Indie Americana with that hook always at the forefront and Callum’s distinctive voice multi-tracked and dominant.

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CONSCIOUS ROUTE & WENDS – High & Mighty

Edinburgh-based Londoner Rolain Williams is Conscious Route, a serial fresh fave and an artist I have reviewed numerous times in Trust The Doc. He runs the excellent True Hold Records and regularly collaborates with others, including vocalist Wends who returns to action here with production by another regular collaborator Supermann. Conscious Route is a favourite of BBC Introducing in Scotland and has been on the BBC 6 Music Mixtape.

High & Mighty sees Rolain in frantic Drum’n’Bass territory, delivering a masterclass in that genre with great ambient noises flexing their aural muscles against a high tempo beat and translucent instrumental presence. Wends has a really distinctive and engaging voice that immediately draws me in and, when Rolain cuts in with his stream-of-consciousness rap later in the performance, it adds another layer of quality to an energetic, exciting track.

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DOGS DON’T DEAL – Be Less Jeff

From Leicester and Sheffield, Dogs Don’t Deal have been getting out and about live and have been reviewed by Music Observer as well as bagging airplay for this track on BBC Introducing in the East Midlands. Looking at the footage of their recent Sheffield gig, they perform live with vocals and guitar plus backing track and the audience gets into the vibe and energy of the songs.

Be Less Jeff is mainly spoken word as the male vocalist gives us a no-holds chapter and verse on his rejection of a string of symbols of modern gadgetry, technology and social media. A solid syncopated guitar riff sets the scene. It kicks off by saying he’s ‘sick of the pub’ before he begins to get his teeth into all the things that he doesn’t want – TESLA, Bitcoin, Apple Watch, people not talking, phone addiction etc. – before the pair hammer out the hook of ‘Be Less Jeff’. It’s humorous but passionate and, while not everyone will share his lament for the death of the pre-digital world, we can all recognise the pair’s frustrations at a world too controlled by the least trustworthy and responsible people! Jeff Bezos appears to be the villain in this particular piece! Moreover the track is fun, frenetic and full of positivity despite its negative subject.

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FREYA EVEREST – Moniqué

It is very special to see my talented friend Freya Everest in the faves with her first ever release. I first met Freya in 2022 as both a postgraduate student and a colleague at ICMP and I have been involved informally in her journey ever since, co-promoting her first gig back in 2023 and encouraging her to keep developing her unique songs. I also believe I was the first person to play this song on the radio. To have hit the ground running the way she has with this debut single is impressive including a review in Earmilk, airplay on a bunch of shows (including mine and Del’s), a superb review in Tony Hardy’s Fifty 3 Fridays and a radio interview with Michelle Ward on Phoenix FM. Now that she has dipped her toe in the water of releasing and marketing her music, the future can be very exciting for this highly likeable, modest but multi-instrumental and versatile talent. So watch this space …..

Moniqué tells a harrowing tale of a strong independent woman who finds herself in a bad situation that will affect her confidence and nerve for life. She sets this story to a spray of pizzicato strings, sophisticated chords and a melody that is so distinctive and dexterous that you cannot hide from it. The hook will, and I can testify to this, lodge itself in your head for days on end while Freya’s vocals are an aural delight and I wonder sometimes whether she realises just what a lovely voice she possesses. The answerphone message mid-track is a clever touch to her storytelling too. It has been worth the wait for a debut single of such quality. Hopefully there is no stopping her now.

Linktree | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Bandcamp

JJ LOVEGROVE – Signal Loss (Feat. Ed Harcourt)

Judi aka JJ Lovegrove from Nottingham is an artist I have been writing about in Trust The Doc for a long while. She was one of my Alt Picks here in March and, in December 2025, she was included on a compilation album called Affinity released by Monochrome Motif Records, the label Sherry and I record for (as [The] Music Of Sound). Judi belongs in a special category of keyboard-playing multi-instrumentalist singer-composers who have proved popular with FOTN readers, like Chloë March, Freyja Elsy and others, who combine classical, folk, alternative and other genres into a cinematic style that is sophisticated and stirring. She has been picking up the plaudits and support from the likes of BBC Introducing, Radio Wigwam and, of course, Exile FM (via myself and Del) and her busy live itinerary has included a UK tour.

On Signal Loss, Judi teams up with another artist familiar to us at FOTN, Ed Harcourt. The contrast between their distinctive timbres is particularly impactful. Ed’s voice has a razor-sharp (and I don’t mean pitchwise!) quality while Judi’s vocals are expressive and dynamic, sometimes reinforced by clever harmonies. The piano rumbles and reverberates across the track and the production feels spacious and big, enabling the vocals to thrive while warm strings sweep in and out of focus. Shades of Julia Holter in a jam with Lana Del Rey although it does not sound like either. Judi has her own sound and, aided and abetted by Ed, Signal Loss is a beautiful, emotion-shredding representation of it.

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MISCHA AND THE BEAR – Bleach

Dublin, Ireland is home to synthpop duo Mischa & The Bear. They must have a connection to Northern Ireland too though as they have been featured by BBC Northern Ireland’s Introducing Show. I am assuming that, as they are a duo, Mischa is the female half and the male half is ‘the bear’. This year they have been getting amongst it on the live scene and they play the Academy Green Room in Dublin this coming Friday (5th June).

Bleach kicks off with a thumping beat and slightly s[n]arky filtered male spoken voice over fuzzy synth bass. Gradually, more sounds enter the mix and the bear moves into an upper register melodic voice. Then Mischa’s distinctive vocals kick in, adding colour and character to a catchy tune and energetic lo-fi synth-punk backdrop. On this evidence, I imagine they are great fun live too.

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ROBI MITCH – Chasing

From Penryn in Cornwall, a county that was once a nation but now constitutes the far South West of the English map, Robi Mitch is all about ‘timeless songwriting’ which, as we will see shortly, informs his music. June will see him play a mini-tour that kicks off in Bristol before returning to Cornwall and finding his way to London and Cirencester.

I was sent Chasing to play on my radio show and, when I did, I pointed out that its organic chord structure, bluesy lead guitar elements and Robi’s high dreamy tenor voice all reminded me strangely of the Welsh Psychedelic Rock band Man. But of course, that could be very misleading because, style-wise, he is a long way from them. There is a mystical air about this though and the tune is quite striking and unusual. As the track develops, driven by his use of the guitars to create contrasts and layers, I find myself being sucked into his musical world which is a place I am happy to spend some time.

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THE CASBAHS – Free Will

Hailing from Durham in the English North East, The Casbahs have been recent recipients of BBC Introducing support and have an album out called Peasants Of The Show. They mix classic Indie and Rock influences from across the decades and have been building a reputation for their energetic live shows. They have also had a rave review from Obscure Sound.

Free Will kicks off with a staccato semi-quaver bass riff before agreeably clanging guitar chords and a corresponding lead melody are joined by hard live sounding drums. The male vocal begins in lower register before rising dynamically up an octave into the chorus, bringing some classic rock drama to the party. As the track develops, the intensity increases through a sound driven from its foundations of powerful drums and busy bass, adorned by the contrasting guitar parts including some great slurred and bendy figures over the climatic final stretch. The ending is sudden and unexpected, leaving us wanting more which is always a good thing.

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PS from TR: 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 – or on my BBC Introducing Mixtape – 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.