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: Hello everyone! Big thankyou to all the artists who submitted tracks in the full inbox and also extra special thankyou to those who found time to come and vote this weekend..
I would like to make an appeal to everyone who make the faves. As you can tell, the faves aren’t decided by one person, and I’d love for you to be actively involved, we open the listening post early on Fridays purposefully for this reason and keep it open until 6pm on Sunday evening, please help your fellow artists – it’s not a competition – we purposely ask artists not to tell their friends to come and vote for them as that would defeat the point of what we do here. If you can come and check out the first listening post when we return and vote for your favourite 5 tracks that will be helpful.
Shares and likes are nice, but if we rely on just shares and likes alone we wouldn’t be able to function. I will tag you on social media as a reminder of course. Thankyou!
If you choose to share this, please tag the correct instagram accounts, @fotnblog and this week’s reviewer Tony Hardy whose instagram hadnle is @tonyhardyfifty3
Take it away Tony.
Tony: Congratulations to everyone who made it through to this week’s Listening Post. The second week back after the summer break saw another really strong set of entries and a correspondingly tough-to-call Listening Post for us moderators. The artists who submit their work to this platform continue to amaze us with the quality of their music and this was reflected in the spread of reader votes cast for all 25 acts this week. Very well done to the ten who make up this week’s Fresh Faves… and here they are.
DEKKER – Carried Away
Spanning the past five years, UK-based songwriter Brookln Dekker aka Dekker is making his fifth appearance as a Fresh Fave. Though his roots are in the American Midwest, he later moved over here with his English wife and musical partner, Ruth, with whom he toured Europe as the folk duo, Rue Royale. After incessant live work, Dekker took a break to reflect and recover, eventually turning to solo work. This is something he has been singularly successful with, evidenced by a current count of 634k monthly listeners on Spotify.
“Carried Away” is the opening track from Dekker’s fifth album, Man on the Mend. Strummed guitar builds a comfortable groove over which Dekker adds soft vocal layers. The song has a laid-back flavour yet the guitar creates forward momentum and, combined with the vocals, it becomes quite hypnotic. Lyrically he is reaching out with a weighty dose of reassurance and wish fulfilment. The combination makes for a therapeutic listen. With the repeated choruses at the end, you sense that that this song would work really well as a live singalong too.
Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Bandcamp
FREYA EVEREST – Honey TV
London-based singer-songwriter/producer Freya Everest created waves with her debut single “Moniqué”, which went on to reach the Faves in June. Her work fuses organic and electronic textures to form airy soundscapes, melding alt-folk with art pop to create music that can’t be easily labelled. Freya takes her inspiration from personal experiences and the broader political landscape, layering acoustic instrumentation, synths and chilled beats with openly honest lyrics and social commentary. Hers is music made for both musing and movement.
The intriguingly titled “Honey TV” is Freya’s second ever release and hence appearance in Fresh Faves with the song topping this week’s poll. Whereas her debut song examined exposure and objectification, the new single turns this on its head to consider the safety and affection felt when truly at home. Lyrically it moves between the flighty and the visceral, drenched in warm love yet able to quietly question a world increasingly disconnected from what really matters. Freya’s harmony laced vocals set the seal on another imaginative and melodic offering.
Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp
LISA COOKE – Quiet In The Hurricane
A first time Fave, Lisa Cooke hails from the East Midlands and self-describes as ‘Accidental artist. Now I am doing it on purpose’ on her YouTube channel which is populated by countless ‘Shorts’ but just two official releases so far. Lisa seems active and popular on Instagram but that’s about all I have bio-wise – her website is under construction too. Lisa may be someone who has returned to music after a break or is literally here by accident. Either way, she has made quite an impression.
“Quiet In The Hurricane” proved to be very popular with our readers, second only to Freya’s track. It is a stirring piano ballad, a torch song to the overwhelmed, anyone unable to cope or looking to find identity; a bit like recognising being there for everyone except yourself. Lisa contributes lead and all background voices on the song with producer and co-writer Nick Trepka supplying all the instrumentation in what is a lush production with a touch of the theatrical about it. Lisa employs an emotive tone with sincerity and great control to it.
Official | Instagram | Twitter/X | YouTube
LONG ISLAND – Not This Time
I was pleased to see indie pop-rockers Long Island in this week’s Faves as I had chosen the band’s last single, “Special Place”, as one of my FOTN Alt Picks in February. The Leeds-based 4-piece have also made the Faves on three previous occasions if my maths is right. Over the past 18 months, Long Island has maintained an upwards trajectory through major festival spots at Truck, Kendal Calling, Isle of Wight plus a headline stage slot at Tramlines.
“Not This Time” looks back on the ins and outs of a doomed relationship which vocalist Rhiannon expertly dissects against a rock steady beat. I like the way she sings it very much in her own voice rather than drifting into transatlantic tones. The backing is restrained in the verses but opens up nicely in the choruses which really nail that the narrator won’t get fooled again, however many times the other party might try to charm their way back. The repeated refrain of “Not this time” at the end of the song lends a finality to it all.
Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X
OLIVER SAY – Inches Apart FEAT. EZRAH
Originally from the Black Country, Oliver Say is a London-based artist, composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work brings together rock, soul, jazz and classical flavours in a heady mix. He has featured in the Faves twice before including a collaboration with British-Nigerian producer Tony Njoku. I have rather failed in the task of finding out much more about Oliver or indeed Ezrah who is credited as featured on the entry track.
Anyhow, “Inches Apart” is a track from Oliver’s 2026 album Thoughts Awry, a title that reflects the introspective aspect of his work. It starts with a vocal croon over a busy beat before giving way to a resonant guitar figure which bridges to a choral passage aided by a second higher vocal (Ezrah?) with the repeated exclamation: “Why do you pick on me?” The second half of the song sees an increasingly frantic instrumental build reaching a searing crescendo before dying back to a sudden stop. An amazing listen but one for further discussion, methinks.
his sound is cinematic, layered, and deeply introspective — always pulling focus inward before projecting it outward.
OLIVIA MICELI – Everybody Wants Him
Here for the fourth time is Olivia Miceli, a wholly DIY independent artist who writes, records and produces all her music from her bedroom studio. The Stoke-on-Trent based all-rounder creates relatable songs which openly connect with listeners, a quality that has brought her extensive radio coverage at home and abroad. Olivia bravely defied superstition by releasing her brilliant song “Friday The 13th” on the same day in February. She went on to deliver a new album, her third, fittingly titled A Romantic’s Worst Nightmare last month.
Taken from the album, “Everybody Wants Him” boasts a lovely, circular melodic structure and a brightness that belies the disappointment of wanting someone who everyone else in her circle appears to equally covert. Lyrically it’s a sugar rush of emotions, candid and self-deprecating, laying her insecurities out for all to see while the quality of the song’s production is something Olivia can rightly take pride in. She writes about the romantic perils of modern life with refreshing openness underpinned by a sense of humour.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X
OPENMODE – How Do I Stop
Openmode arrives new to Fresh Faves, described as “the sonic musings of Anthony and Mark” (no surnames but I uncovered these as Nolan and Wanzala-Ryan respectively). The pair started to work together remotely in or around London during the first lockdown. Openmode’s sound is strongly based on Mark’s vocal musings and motifs which are in turn dissected and transformed into danceable soundscapes by Anthony, or “dance music for the sedentary” as they say on their SoundCloud page.
“How Do I Stop” is from an EP titled All Day, released this summer. Rather than eliciting dance moves, the track has a much more chilled, unwind feel to it. From its ominous opening section, you might expect it to develop into something euphoric but rather it continues on a slow-burn path shaped by Floyd-like resonant keyboard chords. The recurrent vocal shapes become part of the sound design, bringing an added serenity to it all.
RIEKO MAKITA – A Forgiving Summer
Equally new to the Faves is Japanese-Australian musician Rieko Makita whose compositions intersect with classical, jazz and ambient music while she has a parallel career as a classical pianist. Her original works explore themes of migration, belonging and memory and she has appeared at prestigious venues including Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall, plus a live session for BBC Radio 3. Rieko’s PRS Foundation-funded debut EP, Where is Home?, comes out next month, reflecting her experiences across Australia, Japan and the UK in search of home in our interconnected world.
“A Forgiving Summer” is a rich and colourful piece of music, opening with a modulating piano figure over a filigree soundscape. It makes way for a minor key exposition steeped in nostalgia, maybe tinged with regret. You imagine this section as a romantic movie closer until a flurry of piano notes signals a mood change which turns into a blizzard of cascading tones before the main theme returns and gently plays out. Simply blissful.
Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
SARIFE – Etéreo
Twice nominated recently by different moderators as an Alt Pick (612, 615) Hamburg-based neo-soul artist Sarife now makes her Faves debut. Blending neo-soul with R&B influences, she champions female autonomy, embodiment and positive mental health through her music. With an initial background in musical theatre, she moved towards creating her own music and sang with Hamburg soul collective, Angels of Libra. For the last two years, her focus has been on working on her solo debut album.
“Etéreo” is a cut from Sarife’s debut long player, Ghosts from the Past, an emotive ride through her life experiences, acceptable of self and realisation of a true love. The Spanish title Etéreo translates as ethereal in English and there is certainly a sense of delicate beauty to the song. Sarife’s soft tones melt into the ambient backcloth, hushing her words at times. The song is a paean to a guiding spirit, celebrating love yet confronting grief with the closing spoken passage. Aural therapy indeed.
Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
THE SKINTS – Home
We close on a different vibe with The Skints, a reggae quartet band who met as school friends in London and who describe its sound as “music from Jamaica in a London style.” Formed in 2007, the band mixes up reggae, ska and dub with touches of grime and hip-hop and is very active on the live circuit. Veterans of four studio albums, a live album and a bunch of EPs and singles, The Skints seem to have been on recording hiatus until this new single presented itself to FOTN.
“Home” is the first single from a forthcoming album, Sour Tooth. The song references the disorientation from constantly being on tour: life on the road becomes the norm and you become torn between the rock n’ roll lifestyle and the respite of home. It opens with a metal guitar riff which then morphs into a reggae beat for the verses with vocalist Marcia Richards softly caressing her words about the need for a break. The riffing returns for the choruses and sets up a home versus road contest with life on the road having the last word.
Official | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | YouTube
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.
