Our moderators listened to every track we were sent this week and have picked their favourites for your listening pleasure this weekend:

Listening Post: Batch 528

Modern Fencing

Campfire

View of London

At the start of 2023, behind closed doors it wasn’t certain if Bare Jams would be able to continue. However, instead of throwing in the towel, it was through a cathartic writing process that the Bare Jams ship was steered into fresh and exciting waters, giving way to their second album “No Rain. No Flowers.” All written in a relatively short burst at the start of 2023, the album has an overall theme of keeping loved ones close, looking after them, and, more broadly, perseverance.

With this album Bare Jams show they are not afraid to take on the serious challenges we all face. However, they are eternal optimists and worldly-wise enough to know we can absolutely turn things around and find our way through the mire. Looking at the world around us, this positive reinforcement is perhaps what we all need to hear. Don’t go numb!

Orange Sunshine

Wear It So Well

We’ve all been there at times… losing faith in life, questioning who to turn to for solace and meaning – and this time it’s lead singer and guitarist Dave Lightfoot of South London garage rockers The Fades. Having heard a rumour that Keanu Reeves was filming around the corner from their rehearsal studios just after experiencing a midlife breakup, Dave’s imagination was set alight thinking: imagine bumping into Keanu on the street, hanging out and going back to the studio with him for a jam together – then an amazing lifelong relationship can begin, but before that there’s a song to write and here it is…

Looking for Keanu is a 90’s inspired slice of slacker indie rock that features The Fades at their most reflective and self-effacing.

The naked honesty in the verse lyric is plain to see but even in the darkest moments there’s always hope to guide us through to better times and then comes the chorus: it’s powerful, catchy and you can’t help but be lifted up by its energy. There’s the video too, jam packed with ‘Easter eggs’ from Keanu’s various films, all shot around the area where Keanu was filming in South London when Dave came up with the song.

With DJs like Steve Lamacq, John Kennedy & Marc Riley supporting various releases & glowing write ups in Louder Than War, Fresh on The Net & alike throughout their career, The Fades are a band who’ve consistently turned adversity to their advantage, finding the best in life while not taking themselves too seriously.

#lookingforkeanu

Looking for Keanu

All of the Time

A 2 part song about the desire for freedom

Listen to the mad

Desire

Music and lyrics by Laurence Morgan and Luke Deacon
Mixing and mastering by Luke Deacon

LYRICS
One, two, three
We double bluff
When times turn tough
We don't open up
An eye for an eye
Leaves everyone safe and sound

But now I have hope
That you'll read me my horoscope
Until my ears go blind
We'll find it so profound

Could you ask me again 
Why I never needed this before
Suddenly I don't think I'm so sure

Laughing loud and proud just like a babbling brook
Made your eyes explode with jokes I forgot I took
It was just a look but it was done by the book
By the book, by the book, by the book

By The Book

The Bottle

Picked it up smooth like butter
Long hot drive in the summer
Drop draws locked doors lock jaw drop
Heart stop
Set mind in the gutter

Unbearable
My parable
Set my sights intangible
More than I could handle
Lust for life by the handful
Everything I want above me
Dangle
Grab it
Mind stay split
Burnt out candles with hunched back wicks
Late night trains through Hackney Wick
Lost friends along the way
I'm accustomed to it
There's a custom to it
Dark magic to it
Dark magic fluid
Dark magic music
Ain't shit to do
Ain't shit to prove
Sit back recline
Wind down the roof
I move

I don't even want to run away
But I'm running out of reasons to stay

Produced by Tony Bontana

All the Things

Lost in the Shuffle

Wallflower

British Birds are back with 'My Bar', an absolute bouncing alt-pop corker.
British Birds bring their DIY ethic once again to create wistful acoustic psych combined with infectious, pure pop beats. Catchy, nostalgic, sing-along backing harmonies brilliantly complement Bobby's signature lullaby melody which wonderfully juxtapose the bridge's gnarly call to arms against My Bar's avian villain; the Cuckoo. 
This track's fun, vivacious, live-sounding energy is something you can't turn away from.


My Bar

'I am the moon, you are the sun' is an attempt to challenge a pattern of always putting others first without daring to appreciate ones own importance.

I am the moon, you are the sun

Before and After Language....This song is a Markov Blanket between the two.....

Before and After Language

flakebelly // with knowing

https://flakebelly.bandcamp.com/album/lo-fidelity

https://linktr.ee/flakebelly
https://songwhip.com/flakebelly

(P) 2024 flakebelly - all rights reserved
(C) 2024 flakebelly - all rights reserved

Lo Fidelity

With Knowing

Longing

Stream "Wishbone" here: https://porcelainmoon.ffm.to/wishbone

Song written by Emma de Goede and Gerry Matthee
Produced by Gerry Matthee  
Mixed by Peter Eades and Gerry Matthee
Mastered by Mike Zietsman

Wishbone

Lonely Ghxst, the hauntingly endearing artist known for his captivating melodies and poignant lyricism, has unveiled his latest single titled ‘Ghxst’, a touching ode to the power of love and the fear of losing it.

Ghxst

Out The Door!

The Boy In The Bagging Area

Fresh On The Net is a music blog hosted by Tom Robinson and Team Freshnet, offering independent artists an open door and a level playing field for their music. Our inbox is open at http://freshonthenet.co.uk every Monday to Thursday morning - if you share a track with us there it will be heard by every member of our moderation team.

IMPORTANT: 
Only send ONE track, and make sure the dropbox says "OPEN".  Sorry, but tracks sent while the dropbox is closed - or shared drectly with this Soundcloud account - will not get heard.

Listening Post: Batch 528

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