FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: FRESH WEEKLY

Fresh On The Net, the independent music blog founded by Tom Robinson began life as a late night BBC Introducing show on 6 Music. In its current online format, it remains a weekly source of great new music, providing a supportive space for artistes to pitch their wares to a team of music enthusiasts including your writer. Each week we hear up to 200 new tracks submitted by acts of all styles and genres and collectively pick 25 of them to form the week’s Listening Post. Readers then lend their own ears and vote for their five favourite tracks.

The 10 tunes attracting the most votes become the week’s Fresh Faves and are reviewed by one of us moderators, published with a playlist. I had the honour of writing about the latest Faves and a particularly strong selection it was too. Coincidentally, I had already slated three of them for this week’s column before knowing the outcome of the poll. On these occasions, it is always a dilemma deciding which of the ten songs to include in this column, so I recommend you check out the full list on FOTN. To whet your appetite here are five of them.

Photo of Alexandra Leaving by Laurie Barraclough

Fresh from playing Fresh On The Net Live in London two weeks ago, Alexandra Leaving topped the FOTN readers’ poll this week. Now London-based, the Shropshire native is a shining example of an artiste who has reinvented herself successfully from her comparatively introspective singer-songwriter roots to rock star territory. Drawing inspiration rather than a musical style from the Leonard Cohen song of that same name, Alex has added a rockier, uncompromising edge to her work. She was voted a Fresh Fave in November 2019 under her earlier aegis of Alex Jayne, since when she has featured on the site twice in her new guise, plus on occasions as a Fifty3Fridays pick.

A single to follow her May debut EP, An Exorcise in Anger, “Out Of This World” sees Alex bottling the energy of a live recording in a full-on guitar-driven rocker embellished with powerful yet surprisingly nuanced vocals. Hers is a passionate delivery which borders on the theatrical as she weaves an intoxicating web of surrendering to a visceral sense of obsession. Propelled by crisp drums, searing guitars and heavy bass, the song still retains enough light and shade to maintain a distinctive edge. “Can I hold onto this feeling?” Yes, for sure.

A first time Fresh Fave, Echo Northstar is the agreeably evocative moniker of Paddy Hennessey who I’ve said before sounds like he should come from a racing dynasty but reassuringly is a singer-songwriter and producer of, I feel, rare distinction. I first came across his music in November 2022 via his second single, “Silent Fears”, a song which ponders surrendering an old life in search of something new. At the time he was a relative newcomer to the big smoke having recently escaped two years of bedroom lockdown in a stormy coastal village in the east of Ireland.

‘Clambering from silence to meet the rising and falling tides of unknown undiscovered joys’ is the short poetic description you will find on Echo’s Bandcamp page which features five singles including his Listening Post entry, “Creatures.” It seems to sum up his sensibilities quite aptly. On “Creatures” he uses his filigree vocals almost as an additional instrument offset by insistent beats and highlighted by bass syncopations, concluding with a ghostly coda. The song juggles intimacy with a sense of loss and longing; the words cascading and retreating like those rising and falling tides.

Francesca Everly should be a familiar name to Fifty3Fridays aficionados but is a surprisingly overdue entrant to the annals of Fresh favouritism, having released some stand-out singles that have narrowly missed the cut. The Rome native and London-based ICMP alumna originally recorded under her real surname Guerra and repositioned herself as Francesca Everly earlier this year; a rebrand that may have been prompted by the odd mispronunciation of her surname. Francesca fuses influences from Italian Pop and British Indie to create a sound that is increasingly her own, with songs that range from soft, introspective ballads to powerhouse pop rock.

“Golden Days” is the title track from Francesca’s debut EP which includes her last three singles too. The song sees her in reflective, mellow mood as she looks back on personal memories while balancing the pressures of adulthood with a desire to recapture the simpler days of childhood. Strummed guitar sets a relaxed mood over which Francesca’s voice caresses, before increasing in intensity for the choruses. She has a fine appreciation of topline melody and the flexibility to power up a vocal climax. Her whispered vocals as the song reaches closure are then a particular delight, topping a wonderfully constructed and delivered song.

Formed in 2020, Roller Derby describes itself as an indie/dream pop band from Hamburg comprising Philine Meyer on lead vocals and keys and guitarist Manuel Romero Soria. They met as students in Germany and began their musical journey together. The band name has a retro feel which works well in tandem with ‘80s influences, mellow synth sounds, effects pedals and a veneer of Americana to the music. Roller Derby is working towards the launch of a debut album in February 2025 with tour dates slated across Europe and over here in Manchester, London and Brighton.

There is a sense of longing about Roller Derby’s music which is evident on “Ready to Forget”, the song that clearly captivated many Fresh On The Net readers. The title though is a misnomer. On the very first listen, I marked this one down as a too-ne as those reformed Manc lads would say. The song has immediacy in spades and a lightness of touch that lends distinction in familiar musical landscape. Philine’s voice reaches the high notes effortlessly and somewhat dreamily adding a soft glaze to her lyrical contemplations on love’s rollercoaster. 

Alt-folk songstress Sarah Buckley from Cork, Ireland is an artiste whose captivating output I have followed since happening upon her fine single “Always Trouble” last year, which previewed her second EP, Wind Chimes. Sarah’s songs are characterised by a turn of phrase and freshness of delivery that gives air to her inner conversations. Her work has already brought her critical plaudits while she was a first time Fresh Fave in September last year with her tale of misplaced trust in a relationship that went awry, “Puppet Show.”

Noting her return with the single “What's Going On?” made me wonder whether there might be a Marvin Gaye thing going on in that choice of song title. There isn’t, folks. But no matter. I love the way Sarah sings in her natural accent which brings with it a rare flavour and a grounded reality to her musings; and the way she phrases her lines which seem that they won’t fit, but still do. The song is about the stress and confusion of being in a ‘situationship’, checking your phone a lot yet staying in the dark. It is immaculately voiced and perfectly accompanied by a soft instrumental mesh.

HEAR THE FULL SET

You can check out the five remaining Faves on Fresh On The Net now – lovely, eclectic tracks from Australian songstress Haley Holgate, electronic maestro Hyper Sync, chilled jazz stylist Nouria Bah, dance hyphenate Sam Redmore and Edinburgh-based synth pop trio Thundermoon. They would all be here but I am keen to take you to the Fresh On The Net site too. Fair do’s.

You can check in to Fresh On The Net every Friday to find the latest Listening Post, hear some fine new music and of course cast your own votes. [I’ll give it five – Ed, showing his age].