Any artist is welcome to send us a track via freshonthenet.co.uk anytime between Monday lunchtime and Wednesday evening (or when we receive 200 submissions, whichever is sooner) - and all our moderators, including Tom Robinson, will listen to every track. This is our full inbox from the week beginning Mon 8th November: from Friday afternoon you'll be able to hear our shortlist and pick your favourites on this week's Listening Post which will appear at freshonthenet.co.uk/batch425

If a track you submitted does not appear in this list, it’s probably because another of your tracks appeared in our Fresh Faves or on the BBC Music Introducing Mixtape during the last three months — we ask that artists featured on either wait three months before resubmitting to give others a chance. We also don’t accept short previews or SoundCloud GO tracks that can only be heard as 30 second previews, and tracks made private after submission, which cannot be included in playlists. You will be able to resubmit the track in future. Tracks that have been previously submitted and tracks from banned artists will also be removed.

Christmas songs and the like are also not eligible for the Listening Post, although we will collect these into a playlist that will be published on 24 December.

ENTIRE INBOX: Batch 425

DAVE MOHAN *

May Friends #2

A tennis ball in a sock against the garage door
means your sister’s going to leave you alone for a change.

Phew.

Your dad’s watching cricket in a roomful of smoke,
curtains tight against the sun and you’re not allowed in either 
but what you don’t know is that it’s because he’s hung over. 
All you know is he’s scary.

Your mum’s singing Tammy Wynette in the kitchen 
but something in her voice and the song 
is telling you not to go in there just yet. 

There’s a rattle of a magpie; 
you don’t know it’s a magpie, 
it’s just a bird you don’t even really hear.

Holding Space dust in your mouth makes your tongue go sore 
but you do it because you don’t want anyone to know it’s there. 
Pour some more.

You hold on tight to the rough hips of the tree
because you’re balancing on an orange and red striped beach ball.
You admire your toes: you look like a circus girl. 

It’s Saturday and the sun’s gotta burst soon 
and skin cancer hasn’t been invented yet.
You’ve got six whole weeks 
before you have to go back:
you’ll be in the circus by then.  

You might marry Mickey Dolenz.
Or Pete Duel. 
You’ve already got the hat.

Space Dust

Gaelic language version of the original song. With many thanks to Eileen Coyle (Irish Gaeilge vocals) & Ciara Hall (translator):

The isle of Inishmore and the other Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland hold a mythic significance within Ireland’s cultural heritage (it’s where the great Irish playwright Synge, amongst others, went to immerse himself in the Irish language and its creative spirit). This tribute is something of a dreamscape inspired by the strength of the Celtic soul and the majesty of the scenery. The imagery and poetry are intended as a general homage (the visual images are taken from a wide range of locations both within Ireland and further afield – they’re intended to conjure up something of the haunting grandeur of the west of Ireland rather than being a literal representation). The themes embodied - exile, love/longing and the dream of redemption - are elemental within Irish poetry and song. If this little offering adds anything to enhance the special place which Ireland holds in many of our hearts (or soothe, even for a moment, any of its wounds) it will have fulfilled it’s goal.

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdFp6Drq9JA

Inishmore (Gaelic version)

When you've got no more to give
When those wolves are at your heels
When there's no place left to hide
When all your tears run dry...
Reach out and I'll be there

A heartfelt lyric dedicated to all those who've endured so much, alone, in the darkest of times. Musically: a little homage to retro soul (and the spirit of motown). Reminiscences of an age when sax breaks could truly knock your socks off - and very possibly some other delicate bits and pieces to boot!

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y5Hl2yyMJ8

And When the Darkness Comes

Lived

Wilcen & Psicell - Buried Secrets

Next Live Date London Old Blue Last 17th Nov 2021

WEAVING STRANDS OF INDIE, ROCK AND POST-PUNK INTO ONE JUGGERNAUT TRACK


“Punchy, guitar driven songwriting with shades of Foals angular energy, we're also hearing a dose of B-Town promise in their songwriting” - Clash Magazine

“A big indie banger” - Dork

"Addictive indie anthem" - Record Of The Day

"A soaring indie rock upheaval full of feverish energy and raw, radiant passion" - Atwood Magazine

"Continuing to generate buzz" - CLOUT


Rising anthemic indie quartet FLOWVERS have shared their new single 'Flowers' - listen here. 

A slow burner that builds up to an epic crescendo, the new single weaves strands of indie, rock and post-punk to create a colossal four minutes much akin to the sound of Talking Heads meeting Kings Of Leon in their more intricate moments. 

Explaining the track in more detail, the band elaborate, "'Flowers' combines all elements of FLOWVERS. past, present, and future. Weaving between guitar subtilty and sudden impact-wall of sound, with our intention being to create our most interesting and progressive track to date. The reoccurring critique of ‘not liking the way the flowers are going/ things are going’ only solidifies the emotions found in previous single ‘Far Away’."

Another juggernaut track from the four-piece, it follows on from previous meteoric single 'Far Away'. A song that oozes with the same frenetic energy once present during the 2012 B-Town indie scene, the mammoth single was praised by Clash Magazine, Dork, Record Of The Day, Atwood Magazineand CLOUT to name but a few.

Whilst many bands are still finding their feet in a post-pandemic music industry landscape, FLOWVERS have taken it in their stride, using lockdown to develop their sound, which has since presented them with some fruitful opportunities. Earlier this year the Portsmouth band appeared on Scruff Of The Neck TV on Twitch - as part of a mammoth weekender celebrating new bands from up and down the country - and released of their Old Chapel Demos EP, which included key single 'When It Comes To It' being added to the X-POSURE List on Radio X.

This summer they also played at the iconic Isle of Wight Festival, appearing on the This Feeling stage, sold out shows on a headline tour around the UK, had their music played on Soccer AM and appeared in the studio at talkSPORT Radio for an interview.  

FLOWVERS' growing hook-laden sound has seen them become regulars on BBC Introducing in the Solent as well as garnering support across the board on music blogs. They've amassed over one million streams on Spotify after featuring on their New Music Friday and Hot New Bands playlists, whilst live they have played shows with the likes of Swim Deep, JAWS, Black Honey, Another Sky and Coach Party.

Flowers

Flowers by FLOWVERS

Gates

Impromptu 2021/12/29

impromptu 2021/12/29

A vocal duet reworking of my Time and Tides original. I felt the spirit of the song is perhaps even more apt for the present than when first conceived.  If you’ve learned to value those close to you a bit more in these troubled times; or known something of the enduring loss of so many - this one’s for you! Of love and loss:

You're in the rain
You're in the air I breathe in
You're in this fire inside my brain
You're here again
In every silent moment
That's when I hear you call my name...

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OXJnkeLp-4

Time and Tides (Re-Vox Version)

- A musical offering for cello & piano - 
where words fail, let music be a prayer 

"for peace comes dropping slow,
dropping from the veils of the morning
to… the deep heart’s core" (W B Yeats)

[CAOINEADH: from the old Gaelic for crying or to lament]

Many thanks to all who contributed to this one, not least Andy Walter for adding his usual magic and mastering down at Abbey Road Studios.

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MhnsDoYHFE

Caoineadh for Ukraine

Seldom does a day go by but I return, at some stage, to Bach. I recall the magic of first hearing the D minor Chaconne, the glorious opening mvt of Cantata 140, the slow mvt of the double violin concerto... the opening Arioso of Cantata BWV 156, to which I owe the inspiration for this particular little offering.

I've never subscribed to the notion that Bach's music is more cerebral, less emotionally charged than the music of later generations. Despite its transformation into a contemporary love song I'll be delighted if something of the romance and warmth of Bach's original shines through here. The final section of the song resorts to a simple vocalise elaboration of the Arioso melody. A heartfelt tribute to the composer who, more than any other, set me on a musical journey (from classical roots to folk, rock, jazz, fusion... and back) that still, so many years later, feels like it's only just begun.

A very special vote of thanks to the many others who've contributed to this recording, including:
Carolina de la Muela (vocals); Nicholas Ojeda (Dble Bass). Strings - Nightsongs Studio Strings. And not least, to Simon Gibson down at Abbey Road Studios for his customary prowess in the final mastering.

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOD8gMqJoKg

Arioso in Red

Kimi Ga Yo #2

Several Layers Of Dreaming

THIS IS THE MOMENT  Lillithe & Paploviante
Backing Track Hot Sand II : Paploviante
https://soundcloud.com/paploviante-and-friends/hot-sand-soundtrack-without-vocals
Vocal:  www.Ghosthack.de
Demetri and Emily
Lillithe: adding Horns, Trumpet, Flute, Tabular Bell, Tamburin, Conga, Vocals

This Is The Moment Lillithe & Paploviante

memento

The isle of Inishmore and the other Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland hold a mythic significance within Ireland’s cultural heritage (it’s where the great Irish playwright Synge, amongst others, went to immerse himself in the Irish language and its creative spirit). This tribute is something of a dreamscape inspired by the strength of the Celtic soul and the majesty of the scenery. The themes embodied - exile, love/longing and the dream of redemption - are elemental within Irish poetry and song. If this little offering adds anything to enhance the special place which Ireland holds in many of our hearts (or soothe, even for a moment, any of its wounds) it will have fulfilled it’s goal.          

Lyric Vid link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIDCC6J1fdg

Inishmore

Sometimes introspective; always driven by a wider social conscience and a sense of human fragility. Touching on topics that tear at the heart of the human condition (loneliness, love and loss, homelessness/poverty, social exclusion).  And, there again, what’s a songsmith if not a conjurer of dreams? Dreams to lift us, if but for a moment, above the dull vicissitudes of life. Dreams of a world reimagined, that brave souls will always aspire to whatever the cost (Martin Luther King Jr...). A glimmer of unfeigned empathy. A glimpse of sunshine after rain. Music offered as a little healing for troubled times; a solace for the soul; a little heartfelt scattering of dreams - tread softly! 'Our life is no dream; but it ought to become one, and perhaps will' (Novalis)

And When the Darkness Comes

Dave Mohan