Any artist is welcome to send us a track via freshonthenet.co.uk anytime between Monday lunchtime and Thursday morning (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 27 April 2020: from around midday on Friday 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/batch363

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 will be invisible to everyone. 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.

ENTIRE INBOX: Batch 363

'River Styx' is the fourth single by Trashcan Phoenix.

The official music video is available on youtube now: https://youtu.be/wZ3Rz81a5xs

Available for free download on BandCamp: https://trashcanphoenix.bandcamp.com

Trashcan Phoenix’s music is a film noir evocation of artists like David Lynch, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and Portishead. It is by turns melancholy, mischievous, sensual and nightmarish.

Lyrics:
I went down to the river
What did I see there but you watching?

Puddles of sulphurous half-light pave my way to you
Come and see my upstairs, I will not disappoint you

Rawshack scent, chloroform high-life
Musk-skunked scented thighs
Embalmed psalms prone, kissed wrists open
Uncorked pickled sighs.

I been thinkin’ bout those sunny days
Won’t you be there for me?
I been think’ bout original sin and babe
That’s just not for me.

Don’t you leave them behind
Don’t you leave them behind

Crossing rivers of mud to befriend you.
I went down to the river
What did I see there but you watching?

We’re going down to this broke down hill where we’ll die.

Tarmac smile, glistening razors,
Billowing chimney eyes.
Beckoned delights will you over
The River Styx tonight.

Don’t you leave them behind
Don’t you leave them behind

I been over this a thousands times and we
Belong together.
Love this to pieces, I can’t ever let you go.

River Styx - Single

River Styx

Tripped

Band Members :    

Alexander Auldsmith (Vocals, Guitar, Percussion)
Daniel Crichton (Guitar, Backing Vocals)
Lucie Yavruturk (Vocals)
Ruairidh Morrison (Bass)
Sam Dick (Drums)
Euan Macpherson (Drums/Percussion)
Michael Davidson (Backing Vocals, Percussion)
 
Songs Written by Alexander Auldsmith

Recorded, Mixed, Produced, Edited by Liam Narrie

Recorded and Mixed at Abbey Road Studios, London

Mastered by Dave Lloyd at Lost Oscillation Studio, Edinburgh

Artwork by Lucie Yavruturk

Back On Track

Empathy Test's 'Monsters' follows the "shimmering synths and glacial electronics" (Clash) of 'Holy Rivers' and the "dark, anthemic electro-pop" (Fresh on the Net) of 'Empty Handed' as the final single to be released from the forthcoming third album of the same name (May 2020). Far from being 'business as usual', 'Monsters' presents enough of a departure for the London-based Synth Pop band, renowned across Europe and beyond, for their "soft synth" sound, to raise a few eyebrows amongst the loyal fanbase the band has been quietly building since 2014.

'Monsters' incorporates the live acoustic beats of drummer Christina Lopez for the first time, along with an epic synthesised hook dreamt up by new keyboard player Oliver Marson. Channeling the incessant driving energy and 'coming home at 6am' paranoia of Placebo's 'Pure Morning', Empathy Test's 'Monsters' is like nothing the band has done before. Frontman Isaac Howlett's androgynous vocal sits lower in the mix than on previous offerings, helping to give 'Monsters' a weight and energy like never before. Non-performing founder member Adam Relf's production has also reached new heights of excellence, his subtle flourishes helping to raise the euphoria to fever pitch.

While the self-releasing, self-managed Empathy Test has remained criminally overlooked by the UK music scene despite appearing in shows on MTV and Netflix, radio play from Amazing Radio, Radio X and BBC Introducing, as well as press coverage from Clash, Line of Best Fit and many more, 'Monsters' may just have the power to propel the band into the limelight. Arriving with an equally intense video, directed by the award-winning Calum Macdiarmid (bit.ly/MNSTRS-VID), 'Monsters' releases digitally via all major streaming services on Friday 24th March. The album is slated for a full digital and physical release on 22nd May and can be preordered via the crowd funder on Indiegogo: bit.ly/ET-MNSTRS or on Bandcamp: bit.ly/MNSTRS-BC

For more information, email info@empathytest.com or visit:

Website: www.empathytest.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/empathytest 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/empathytest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/empathytest
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/empathytestmusic
Spotify: bit.ly/MPTHYTST

LYRICS

When all's been said and done
And another day's begun.
When the lines go on and on
And all you've got is gone.
You've doused yourself in sin
And the daylight's creeping in.
When the shadows start to grow - oh!
Maybe it's time to go
Maybe it's time to go
Maybe it's time to go.


When all's been said and done
No distance left to run.
When the emptiness arrives
And there's nowhere left to hide.
When it's stacking up inside
From the corners of your mind.
When the teardrops start to flow - oh!
Maybe it's time to go
Maybe it's time to go


Baby I've got the monsters
Baby I've got the monsters 
Baby I've got the monsters 
Baby I've got the monsters 
Again.
Baby I've got the monsters
Baby I've got the monsters 
Baby I've got the monsters 
Again.


Maybe it's time to go
Maybe it's time to go


Baby I've got the monsters
Baby I've got the monsters 
Baby I've got the monsters 
Baby I've got the monsters 
Again.
Baby I've got the monsters
Baby I've got the monsters 
Baby I've got the monsters 
Again.


They're creeping up
Again.
They're creeping up
Again.
They're creeping up
Again.
They're creeping up
Again.

Monsters

Monsters (Radio Edit)

FREE DOWNLOAD

So Bright / Always Goodbye

So Bright

Sixties Hearse

Written and recorded by Jacko Hooper.
Mixed by Josh Trinnaman
Mastered by Slade Templeton of Influx Studios, SWI.

www.jackohooper.com
www.facebook.com/jackohoopermusic
www.twitter.com/jacko_hooper
www.instagram.com/jacko_hooper

Lyrics:
Don't take too long,
For I can't quite breath
It's like, my brain's under water
And I can't get relief 

I'll do my breathing,
Just like my Mother said 
Don't worry son,
It's all in your head

These halls,
They creep with odour 
That I can't quite shift
It's truth, to me is overwhelming
But there's nothing left
For me,
Here

Oh, Caroline
It's keeping me up
While holding me down
Oh, Caroline
You can't just stop
My mind is still not clear

You Don't Understand

WILL I EVER ?

Fresh post-punk from Dublin band, Bullet Girl.

BULLET GIRL - Hatred

Jack Rowe - Violin
Rhys Graham - Production

Diamonds

Less Than A Mile Away

After travelling to South America for writing and recording sessions, Ela Nedra decided to record a Spanish version of her debut single "Live it Up Slow". Being so inspired by the sounds from Latin America she came back to London & recorded the new version with producer Raph A.

Live It Up Slow - Spanish Version

Love Is Blind

Written after an anxiety dream (nightmare!) which seemed to merge post-Brexit Britain and climate change - eurghhhh! Music by Martin Dewar.

No Other Gods

Reg Meuross - SHINE ON

As the news reels and press conferences continue to bring us terrible stories from across the world, one glimmer of hope that shines on is that, as society changes, community remains.

From the singing balconies of Italy, to the claps, pots and pans ringing out across the UK each Thursday evening, the ability of the human spirit to endure can lift the darkest of glooms, and with that message close to its core comes Reg Meuross’s new song Shine On which will be released as a single on May 1st.

“Reflecting on our current situation and how the Corona Pandemic will be seen as hugely significant and world-altering, I felt a desire to write.” says the renowned songwriter.

“I thought in particular about the health workers, who are working beyond the call of duty and about the urgent need for global realisation of their true worth. There is such a need now for all of us to pull our weight, to be responsible and kind, to observe guidelines and still to shine in the darkness, to inspire, and encourage and support each other”

Accustomed to bringing people together in the folk and music clubs across the land, it was inevitable that, even under lockdown conditions, Reg would find a way to create community through the power of song. 

As you’d expect from the man who wrote Faraway People, We Looked Away and Angel in a Blue Dress (featured on BBC Radio 6’s Saluting Key Workers playlist), Shine On carries a strong message of not forgetting the ‘fragile and the weak’, of ‘city lords making laws’ and nations ‘falling to their knees’ but ends by encouraging us to ‘shine on - like the spirit of mankind’.

Created through remote collaboration with past and present collaborators from Devon to Scotland, and embodying a truly DIY ethos, the song and accompanying video provide a shining light in the current darkness and a reminder that we can produce something of worth by pulling together, whilst also not shying away from the reality of the Covid-19 situation. 

Although an extensive spring and summer tour in support of recent album RAW has been postponed, Reg is still managing to maintain the connection with his loyal fan base through a successful Patreon channel and regular ‘Lockdown Jukebox’ sessions available on his Facebook page, where Reg brings a taste of the communal spirit of a live performance to the online community.

With the immediate future still uncertain, Reg Meuross, described as “assured a place in the pantheon of great folk songwriters of our time” (The Living Tradition) can always be relied upon to bring a little light into the world when it is needed and, with Shine On, he hopes to do just that. 

Stay safe. Protect the NHS. Save lives. Shine On.

for press/radio/interviews contact katie@fromthewhitehouse.com

Special thanks to the nursing staff at the Chest Clinic, Royal Preston Hospital

The team: 
Song written and performed by Reg Meuross 
Additional vocals Harbottle & Jonas 
Cello: Bethany Porter 
Violin and viola: Marion Fleetwood 
Bass and Cuatro: Vince Iddon 
Music and video production: Moth Wing Music mothwingmusic.com
Artwork: left-bridge.co.uk 
Conception and inspiration: Katie Whitehouse fromthewhitehouse.com

Reg Meuross - SHINE ON

my everything (ft. HURU)

The Waves

Third track to be shared by Edinburgh pop mechanic Locked Hands. 
Out 15/05/20 on Errant Media.
Enquiries: errantmediamusic@gmail.com

The Getting By

Underground Frets - Let You Know

A cry for personal freedom, and a wish to be more 'natural', like all of Nature.

Like The Roses (Hytch/Coltart)

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.

ENTIRE INBOX: Batch 363

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