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:

OPENMODE
LYRA
DAVE DARK AND THE SHARKS
JOSEPHINE PASCOE
ANDY BLACKWELL
TOM BERTRAM
VALESKA & THE RIVER
MARTYRS
NORRISETTE
PSEUDOPOMP
MAGNETIC SKIES
EVIE LIEZ
RELUCTANT BOB & THE LONELY LOVERS
ALICE ASHE

ALAN DREEZER:

OPENMODE – ALL DAY

With its ambient textures and slow-building momentum, this hypnotic release from the electronic duo had me under its spell.

LYRA – ENGLISH WEATHER

With anthemic melodies and an undercurrent of raw emotion, “English Weather” is both uplifting and impactful.

DEL OSEI-OWUSU/PLATINUMMIND:

DAVE DARK AND THE SHARKS – Dark Blue Tee

Well this certainly didn’t disappoint! This is a track that samples soundbites from Kemi Badenoch and Andy Burnham over a dance beat, referencing his usual choice of attire – probably one of the few times when you see a potential prime minister not suited and booted! The next few weeks are going to be interesting, and Dave Dark And The Sharks turn this into a little bit of satire – if this was the 1980s I’d say this would have been recorded using an Emulator II+ as it’s got that kind of electronic feel to it, and it certainly made me chuckle on hearing it.

JOSEPHINE PASCOE – Sticklebricks

If I was to list the amount of instruments Josephine Pascoe plays we’d be here all day. This is a real smooth jazz instrumental, dominated by piano and with a little bit of a shuffle to the groove, I love it when the flute comes in you don’t get much jazz flute and I appreciate it here.

JOHN MICHIE:

ANDY BLACKWELL – Flowers

Flowers is a protest song about the effects of social media on our lives. It shifts from an intimate piano ballad with hints of Radiohead to more aggressive, guitar-driven chorus sections reminiscent of Mansun. This is a pure slow-burning, cigarette-lighter anthem.

TOM BERTRAM – Something In The Air

Something In The Air is a widescreen, anthemic rock song in the spirit of Liam Gallagher’s most soaring solo moments. It carries a sense of uplift that feels both classic and immediate. The melody is built for mass singalong, with a chorus that lands like a rallying cry. Music made for raised arms, loud rooms, and moments that feel bigger than they should.

NEIL MARCH:

VALESKA & THE RIVER – The WInd Took Me

Valeska Rautenberg, from Berlin, always makes enchanting music and The Wind Took Me is another example. In a minor key, based around a gradually expanding palette of arpeggios, extended harmony and slightly melancholy melodic writing, this is a delicately but dynamically delivered solo classical piano piece that improves with every listen.

MARTYRS – Drowning Days

From Merthyr Tydfil in the Welsh Valleys, Martyrs have been making exciting music for some time now and Drowning Days is another fine example of their epic style. Hints of The Cure in a mash with Future Islands while New Order bring flavours. Really good.

PAUL KERR:

NORRISETTE- Frog

Frog from Manchester based purveyor of off-kilter art-pop Norrisette, hops straight out of the speakers like it’s late for an audition at a cabaret‑punk swamp. It twitches and pirouettes like it’s powered by unstable batteries, ricocheting between theatrical cabaret flourishes and oddball art‑pop leaps. It’s a full-on collision between The Dresden Dolls at their most manic and a jittery Lene Lovich pushing a circus organ down stairs, all skittish charm, elastic vocals and amphibian‑coded chaos.

PSEUDOPOMP – Pickles

Pickles arrives with a crooked grin and a wobble in its step, like something assembled from mismatched props found behind a theatre curtain, theatrical, tangy, proudly peculiar without tipping into full chaos. The melody doesn’t travel in a straight line; it ricochets, pauses, pulls a face, then darts off again.

The dual male/female vocals spring around the mix like an indie Fleetwood Mac juggling jars of brine, guitars twitch, percussion snaps, and the whole thing zigzags with a vinegar-sharp bite that suits its title. It’s a skewed delight, a twitchy, tangy tune that is worth preserving.

SHERRY SAHAYARAJ:

MAGNETIC SKIES – Slow Motion

I always love an 80’s vibe kind of track, particularly when it has those nostalgic synths and dramatic beats. This song really captures that retro feeling and transports us into a new world.

EVIE LIEZ – Eyes Like Ice

I love how the track creates an eerie vibe while still feeling calm and peaceful. It has a mysterious energy that keeps us hooked. The way the voices are echoed adds to the atmosphere and gives the song a haunting, almost magical feeling. This track feels like it could easily be a track on a science fiction movie. When I heard this track, it immediately reminded me of the series “Dark” and its mysterious soundtrack by Apparat “Goodbye” (feat. Soap&Skin), the opening theme of Dark. It has the same cinematic, mysterious feeling as stepping into another world.

TONY HARDY:

RELUCTANT BOB & THE LONELY LOVERS – Carry On Without Me

Another little gem arrives from Waterford’s Robert Baker in his current psychedelic-pop alias as Reluctant Bob. Nowt to do with Carry On films, despite the title, here Bob is playing someone who may be nearing the end of the road and is saying his goodbyes. There are shades of Morton Valence’s Rob Hacker in Bob’s conversational vocal and the meandering guitar figures are a real delight.

ALICE ASHE – Six Feet Under

The Isle of Man’s Alice Ashe comes across as a seasoned Nashville pro on this stark tale of revenge on a controlling, abusive partner yet, to my surprise, this is actually her debut single. Great storytelling in the Country music tradition, delivered by Alice in a weathered, expressive drawl replete with swoops, cracks and slurs in all the right places.