Every week I listen to up to 200 songs through the fresh on the net inbox as lead moderator leading a team of volunteers. These are the tracks that made up the final ten as picked by our fab readers. Listen to the inbox here. These are also my personal picks
ABS – Breathe!
Abs kicks off the faves this week. And true 606 style, this track brings the funk! But at the same time it’s got a really bluesy hip hop feel! The thing I like the most about this track is that lyrically it talks about things that I am familiar with, living in the hustle and bustle of London, getting a bus from Peckham (I haven’t done that in a while), but it’s got the plodding along vibe of it.
Not to mention the fact that this song is live ready. The band accompanying ABS is insanely good.
Let’s break it down.
The drums? Shout out to Jemma Green for this.
Abs had an instagram challenge where you had to guess the drummer.
She’s sick. Oh she’s so sick.
Add to that the groove on the bass from Zachary Michaud, he’s in the pocket but then he goes off script in the second verse, giving Abs that space to bounce on the rhythm…
Who am I missing? Oh how silly of me, the trumpet flurry that comes from Olivia – she has multi layers here with the harmonies… it’s just beautiful..
Last but not least Ashly on keys – dude if you bring an electric piano to the table then you’re winning at life…
Now we’ve introduced the cast in this musical odyssey let’s talk about two things that make this track epic Abs’s scat vocals over what I can only describe as a dream sequence at 1:32, you just don’t expect it.
Lord she’s got lungs.
Then the key change…
Then that dead stop with a gasp…
What is this musical alchemy I’m listening to??
Abs is a singer songwriter from London who specialises in Neo soul, this is from her new EP “Learning To Know Myself” and she’s about to embark on a UK tour.
Oh yeah.
This is my track of the week.
ANYA VINCENT – Closer
I can’t decide whether this is pure pop or dance pop, either way, this sets off at a fair pace showcasing the talent of Anya Vincent, the vocals kick this off with an a cappella section that’s really short. “I’m falling deeper and deeper” gives way to a fabulous beat built around a synth bass that sounds like a DX7 vintage lately bass. If not then it’s got to be a mix of analogue synths. This feels like 90s and that makes me sad because it makes me feel old hahaha. This is upbeat even though it talks about being brought down by someone in a toxic relationship, and it sounds damaging but at least the writer has the presence of mind to know how bad it could get.
Anya is from Paisley Scotland, and she started releasing music in her teens, this was produced in collaboration with Jordan Lawlor from Los Angeles, who is known for their work with M83 and Deftones.
CELLO – We Do What We Want (When We Want When We Want To)
We now go to the other end of the scale and go punk with this one, this could be a theme of rebellion! It starts off with analog synths, but don’t let that fool you because then the guitars break through that and this hits the ground running! Cello are here to declare that they do what they want when they want to and the message is received loud and clear. This could be used as a chant at a live gig. But what I like about this song is that it also combines harmonies in the background with bah’s and ooh’s. It combines so many really well developed ideas in the space of two minutes and fifteen seconds…
So.
With this in mind Cello gets my chef’s kiss.
Cello is simply known as JB from all the sources I can find, I had a timely email with her new single over the weekend. But her bio is very detailed, she trained at the Junior Royal College Of Music, and she makes confrontational playful post punk pop that is just a little bit uncomfortable.
KIDSMOKE – I’m Always Getting Carried Away
Dialling back the distortion a little bit, Kidsmoke bring us a song that’s got summer holiday playlist all over it, there’s a chord in there that made me go all gooey, it’s an Fmaj7 and it’s perfectly placed within the arrangement. The harmonies seem to be very seventies influenced and I have no problem with that!
Amidst all this the lyrics make you pause and think:
I never thought you would die alone,
I never thought it would happen this way,
I Neve thought you would die alone,
Oh I never thought it would happen this way,
Can you remember? Can you remember?
Hidden with this song is heartbreak.
Wrapped around it is an indie pop guitar driven instrumental, and it just does the job.
Kidsmoke are a band from Wales, who have got kudos from The Times, and have the distinction of being featured on a sync with Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. I miss that series!
KITTY O’NEAL – Can I Let This One Go
Statistically speaking, the next track shouldn’t be in the same key, as the odds for this are long when voting on the listening post. But it is, and I’m glad! It’s my radio DJ head kicking in. Anyway, this starts off with a kick drum laying down a four on the four pattern, then joined by an acoustic guitar and Kitty O’Neal’s vocal, which is what attracted me to this track initially. She’s got a wistful tone, but that’s a good thing as she carries it well with the harmony layers.
This has such a natural flow to it, a folk rock style song so it wouldn’t be out of place on a playlist that has Fleetwood Mac in their pop phase.
Kitty is no stranger to us at FOTN as she is also known in her previous incarnation as March. She is a UK based singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist and is heavily influenced by 70s folk rock.
LARLIN – Sondheim
The funny thing about this song is that I was talking to my dear colleague Franika about Stephen Sondheim recently, and an artist called Dame Fawn as she’s just covered Sondheim’s “Losing My Mind” – the version I know is the one by Liza Minnelli and given a bit of a boost by the Pet Shop Boys dropping a Hi-NRG sparkling production on it.
So how this has come full circle and this track being named Sondheim and being featured in the faves I have no idea at all, and that will be left to life’s great mysteries.
This is far away from 1970s musical theatre and 80s pulsing synths, this is an indie rock track, and full of low slung guitars the vocals are my favourite part of this song, it’s very powerful. Also I have to say the musical arrangement is top notch because it goes from high to low and back to high effectively giving your ears a chance to recover…
NICE WORK.
LARLIN are from Brighton, and have been together since 2024, and declare that they write your diary entries so you don’t have to.
RICHARD NEUBERG – Everything Dark Is Light
Slowing things down a little, this track is laden with lovely acoustic guitars and strings on top played in a dreamy way, lots of vibrato on this to give it an emotional lift. Add to that some pizzicato strings and horns and you have a track that’s just gorgeous in its composition. My favourite bit is where there’s an angelic background vocal very subtly that serves as a bridge at 2:34.
Richard Neuberg is the lead singer of Viarosa, and was on a sixteen year hiatus, and has a new album coming out called “The Vine” which is out on 29th May.
ROE – Adrenaline
ROE comes to us with an acoustic led number that reminds me a little of early 2000s indie pop, and that’s not a bad thing! Roe starts off gently until she hits the chorus, then turns into something else giving us a hint that this isn’t just your run of the mill pop song, Roe is very capable of switching very easily. This has a very strong chorus, and talks about going places, given that adrenaline is what gives you confidence to do the things you wouldn’t usually do this connects. things nicely.
Looking at her bandcamp this seems to be a running theme, with a project called “That’s Where The Panic Sets In”, I can see Roe’s music being a way to bolster confidence in people and I love that.
SONNEN BLUME – Crying In The IBIS
SONNEN BLUME brings us a track that could easily be autobiographical. This is a great piece of dream pop with a little bit of country mixed in there a little on the vocals, for some reason I can hear the lilt. The vocals are whispered here and you can feel the emotion of a relationship ending, and the feeling of abandonment that comes with it.
Instrument wise we have a piano, guitar, piano, bass and drums.
Questions are posed in the lyrics – What is point of the next two weeks, a nice hotel is booked, a cultural reference to the tamagotchi which made me laugh – I was never into that but I had friends that did. Also a packet of crisps? I have so many questions – what flavour?
Anyway, whatever it is this song makes this band my one to watch.
Sonnen Blume is UK based artist who has been paving her way with soft pop-leaning soundscapes and intimate societal reflections.
THE KASHBUK – Sunset
To close the faves we have a bit of indie rock that’s guitar driven, and I love the chord progression in the chorus: I VI V it’s classic and catchy as hell! Lyrically I’m guessing this is the motorbiking equivalent of getting butterflies in your stomach when you see the person you like, it’s kind of hidden in the way that the lyrics say that they see the sunset when you ride.
This has that 70s rock feel to it, with the big guitars -very much like Eagles melodic sensibilities and a touch of pre yacht rock Toto. I’ve got no problem with that at all!
So who are The Kashbuk?
Well they seem to be very mysterious all information I can find about them is that they are a duo, and they recorded their tracks at Eve Studios.
