Tag Archives: Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 1st December 2025

Lucy Kitchen – The Boatman

The personal circumstances surrounding folk artist Lucy Kitchen’s creation of her forthcoming album were devastating. The loss of her husband to cancer three years ago hangs heavy over brand new ‘In The Low Light’ record, set for a February release and including this heartfelt ode to the departed; it is an impossibly moving song that beautifully evokes the heartache and dark desire to cross over to the other side and reunite with those passed on. But this is also a piece that, amidst the silent sorrow, also connects with the human spirit and survivors instinct to carry life on with dignity and hope. The structure of the music here sounds more like a spiritual folk hymn, especially with that gorgeous underlay of church organ sound rising at the songs end. We have all been knocked about by life’s unfair hand at some point, but while there are artists like Lucy Kitchen creating music to help us through the struggle, there will always be a ray of light breaking through eventually.

Tiwayo – I’ve Got To Travel Alone

There is plenty to like about this one, a killer tune with some seriously sharp edged playing and a rough, lived in soul voice taking it all out for delivery. There are, it seems, already a good number of reasons to anticipate 2026 with enthusiasm. This one is from Tiwayo’s latest album called ‘Outsider’ which is set for release early next year on the Record Kicks label. It is produced by the Black Pumas Adrian Quesada and promises to push this Paris born singer firmly into the spotlight. That the video presented here has a shot in it showing a picture of Prince on the wall is an accurate enough indicator of the kind of talent we are witnessing here. And I come back to that voice again, even some of the all time greats in soul, blues and gospel did not come as close as this to a sound so authentically aged and fresh, no wonder Tiwayo was once bestowed with the nickname “The Young Old”.

Amelia Coburn – Something Wild

Amelia sounds like she has really refined her individualistic gothic fairy tale niche with the release of this latest song. Not only does it carry forward the very promising sounds heard on her Bill Ryder-Jones produced 2024 debut album ‘Between The Moon And The Milkman’ but also, with such an earworm worthy chorus line, she is proving to be a tidy songwriter as well. Endorsements by the likes of Paul Weller will not have done her confidence any harm either, in fact she duets with him on a track from his latest ‘Find El Dorado’ record, but this one is all about Amelia’s own sound and vision. And it is a pretty sympathetic video as well, in which her search for the wildness inside is illustrated with some graphic destruction of civilised engagement. I mean, everyone has, at some point, just wanted to shove their fist into a garishly decorated cake and then smash up some ceramics haven’t they?

Fuzzy Lights – Greenteeth

Moving ever deeper into the quagmire of folk-horror and fuzz drenched freakout friendly sounds, we find Fuzzy Lights getting their ankles wet exploring the mysteries of ‘Fen Creatures’ on their latest psych fuelled album. They are a Cambridge based group of space cadets who have been building a rich back catalogue since 2008 and have, whilst tackling themes of folklore and humanities fractured relationship with the environment, nurtured a love of acid-folk textures into explorative, progressive even, music that does not respect boundaries of genre, tone or tempo. Fuzzy Lights tackle music as an expression and they intentionally deploy a razor sharp edge to their sound that can cause injury to those not paying attention; this is music that demands and rewards immersion.

Anna von Hausswolff (ft. Iggy Pop) – The Whole Woman

I have unashamedly steered us down a very heavy set gothic folk-noir avenue this week and may just have hit the motherlode with this stop on the detour. It is a track from Anna’s new album ‘Iconoclasts’ and as if her pure, caressing vocal were not a winning enough ingredient atop the sweeping cinematic grandeur of the song, when that bottomless Iggy croon joins in the game is well and truly up. It is the sixth album release from the acclaimed organist who has been plotting an increasingly eccentric and deliberate pathway through choppy prog waters for a number of years now, making music that is simultaneously foreboding and enchanting. This new collection though, is being tipped with good reason by many to be her best thus far.

The Melancholy Kings – Bitcoin Elegy

And so we bring things to a close with the jingle-jangle crash and bang of The Melancholy Kings, proudly nailing their vintage college-rock colours to the mast. Of all the song writing forms in the pop world, this is the one that still retains the look of a design classic; key scaling electric guitars, meaty drums, deep bass, intros, verses, choruses, a middle eight and then a mighty thud to end it on a high. Simple but still oh so effective. Just right too for a song bemoaning the state of personal relationships in the digital age. The bands first album in six years, ‘Her Favourite Disguise’, is out now on The Magic Door Record Label.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 24th November 2025

Muireann Bradley – No Name Blues

Muireann has been bedazzling audiences both live and through our TV sets for the past couple of years thanks to her mastery of that early acoustic, ragtime infused, rhythm and blues style. Hers has been an act based on the authentic re-interpretation of this vintage folk material, breathing fresh life and lustre into songs that may have previously felt like the belongings of another age. With the youthful Bradley touch, they once again found a home in the modern day musical firmament but where would she take her act after establishing such firm roots in retro soil? Well, it looks like she might just be in for the long haul because, as heard on this new recording, Muireann has added songwriting in the style of her closest inspirations to her arsenal and it sounds pretty damn fine as well; the name of the release is the ‘Rose Dogs EP’ so go and dig it out.

The Hanging Stars – Sister Of The Sun

There are some classic echoes vibrating from the speakers with this track too, this time however it is the Beatle-esque harmonic guitar pop favoured by the likes of The Byrds, Teenage Fanclub (whose Gerry Love collaborates with the band on this very tune) or other such psych-flavoured sonic visionaries that we recall. It is all very well making these comparisons of course but they are of little value if the band playing does not live up to such top drawer likenesses. Fortunately, The Hanging Stars have learned from the best and have both the hooks, the imagination and the execution to turn out music that is easy to love and hard to shake off. They have been busy working on their sixth album which, on the evidence of this track, promises to build on the shimmering cosmic folk-rock of their previous releases, and it is due to appear in the first half of 2026

Sabine McCalla – Two Of Hearts

This sumptuous track is taken from Sabine’s brand new album ‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ released on Gar Hole Records. Sabine has been quietly building a music career whilst her sister Leyla McCalla (who features on the new record supplying some guest vocals) has received the vast majority of the attention, especially for her sublime 2024 album ‘Sun Without The Heat’. However, just like Leyla, Sabine has a winning way with a lilting melody and an authentic Americana sound that fuses folk, gospel and soulful influences. The impressions burned into her writing by New Orleans is clear to hear also and there is an inviting element of performance and charm to her delivery, maybe something that comes naturally when you are offering the world songs that are this immediately enjoyable, singable and repeatable. There is something about this McCalla family that I really like.

Billy Bragg – Hundred Year Hunger

On the strongly recommended compilation retrospective album ‘The Roaring Forty (1983-2023)’ Billy Bragg’s career in protest music and personal songwriting is presented with forty killer tunes over a forty year period. It is a pretty damn fine statement of the mans body of work and humanitarian writing which might well have stood as a full stop if not for the fact that Billy is ploughing on, ever relevant, ever opinionated and compassionate, always articulate and worth listening to in a debate. This new song is proof positive of this, a piece that has been written under the shadow of the famine in Gaza that clearly puts across the key message of “existence is resistance”. In doing so Billy is focusing in on how hunger and displacement have been used as political weapons and cleverly places the tale in an historical context of Israeli policies and long running resilience against the abandonment of ancestral land. Billy Bragg is a musician who can not only do this, but also present it as a work of art that moves the soul as only the best compositions can.

Courtney Marie Andrews – Cons And Clowns

Courtney Marie Andrews has been a reliably consistent purveyor of yearning country music for a good fifteen years now. This heartfelt ode to outsiders has been issued as a leader track from a new album set to be released in January of next year. The record will be called ‘Valentine’ and has been co-produced by Jerry Bernhardt, who has worked with at least two other Fruit Tree Records favourites, namely Ron Gallo and Yola. Courtney has certainly been pouring a lot of herself into her music over the years, resulting in material that does not have even a hint of fakery to it, This singer is the real deal alright and with some of the sneak preview songs from albums due next year that Fresh Juice has featured this week and last, 2026 is already shaping up to be a year with great new music in plentiful supply.

The Tiger Lillies – Stupid Life

We delighted in the dark depths of a night of live Tiger Lillies entertainment at the start of this month (our live review is here https://fruit-tree-records.com/2025/11/12/tiger-lillies-wiltons-music-hall-london-1st-november-2025/) and this is a new song from the album they were launching that evening, ‘Serenade From The Sewer’. Performed in their trademark scorched cabaret style, this is one of a vast catalogue of Martyn Jacques songs that exaggerates the absurdities of life itself and societal routines with a refreshing air of futility and a finely tuned sense of theatrical colour. They may well penetrate the atmosphere like ancient spirits re-awakened but they are simultaneously wholly unique and exhale a certain timelessness. They also, in a far more practical sense, write some startlingly good, melodically bouncy and memorable songs.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 17th November 2025

The Wave Pictures – Alice

As ever the news of a forthcoming Wave Pictures album is gladly received here at Fruit Tree Records. This newly available song is teasing us ahead of a Bella Union album due for release in late February 2026 called ‘Gained / Lost’. It is a classic sounding rocker with that sixties garage energy that almost feels like the bands default setting at this point, shot with the melodious hooks and riffing that David Tattersall can effortlessly deliver in a heartbeat. The music world is surely a better place with a band like The Wave Pictures still putting out exciting new records.

Lael Neale – Some Bright Morning

And talking of sixties flavoured sounds, this new song recently released by Lael Neale is a very welcome burst of vintage pop loveliness shot through with a laid back Velvets like cool. It is full of retro thrills and hazy instrumentation, especially with that omnichord drone, the primitive simplicity of the drums and an occasional burst of backwards guitar soloing, but is also a grooving little banger of a song. As such, it is understandable why the decision was taken not to include it on this years ‘Altogether Stranger’ album, despite being recorded around the same time, but rather hold it back for this pumping stand alone single (another sixties music releasing trend). Check out her tour dates for she is playing live in Europe and the UK at the end of November then early December.

Anna Tivel – Animal Poem

Here is another songwriter on top of her game, this time more in the acoustic troubadour mode but equally injected with the qualities, standards and human touch that lights this style of music up bright. This is the title track from Anna’s latest album released on Fluff And Gravy Records and of the tune she says it is “a meditation on the stories we tell ourselves and each other”. This is her seventh studio LP in a catalogue that is gradually building to showcase Tivel as one of the leading expressionists on the folk, singer-songwriter scene today. Her tunes are just so welcoming in their tone and patterns but stand up to deep engagement thanks to their carefully crafted lyrics and ideas. Anna Tivel is one of the best around today with a guitar and a song.

The Lemonheads – In The Margin

Evan Dando might only return to his Lemonheads music vehicle when he feels like it but at least when they do return it is with songs and a committed approach that makes the wait worthwhile. This remains the rough, warm sound of grunge that took the genre into the charts over thirty years ago but in the hands of a dude proving it is still a style worth revisiting; especially in comparison to some of the reductive metallic tangents rock has taken over the same period, the sound of The Lemonheads retains some soul. The new album is called ‘Love Chant’ and is their first album of original songs since 2006. The grunge essence is undoubtedly enhanced by collaborative legends credited on the LP, such as J Mascis, Juliana Hatfield, Adam Green and Nick Saloman.

Fitzsimon & Brogan – Flowers At Her Door

Every bit as crunching and melodically tasty are this London based power-pop duo, who have released this single through French label Booster Music. Neil Fitzsimon and vocalist Bee Brogan were once a part of the band Pretty Blue Gun but have since gone into partnership with their composing and producing. This is a track that has one foot pounding a glam rock stomp and another wearing laced up DMs kicking out with new wave energy and attitude. It is no surprise therefore to learn that their latest album ‘This Wicked Pantomime’ features contributions from Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello’s Attractions) and Woody Woodmansey (David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars). If you like a bit of grit and thrust with your infectious rock/pop hooks then look no further.

The Wood – Cold Fire

This is one heck of an essential soulful sound, fused with gospel depth, emerging from what feels like a vibrant music scene in Liverpool these days. The Wood are Alex Evans and Steve Powell (who also runs Ark Recording Studios on the city) and the lead vocal well and truly taking you there on this number is performed by guest vocalist Brooke Combe. The song is from a newly issued EP of the same name released on Riverdream Records. Fast becoming highly rated for their stylish blending of soul, jazz and folk influences, this sounds like one of those EPs that, should it not break big like it deserves to, will be a sought after nugget for record (or in this case CD) crate diggers and collectors of the future.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 10th November 2025

Big Thief – Grandmother

Taken from the bands sixth studio album ‘Double Infinity’, the now three piece Big Thief are seen here with a recent live TV performance of one of the stand out tracks from the album. It is the first song in the bands catalogue to feature a co-writing credit for all three members, Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia. Although the lyric explores a theme of intergenerational emotion, directly addressing Lenker’s grandmother, I do like the way the “gonna turn it all into rock and roll” refrain points to a connection across the generations through music. Big Thief remain predictably brilliant on an album which serves to establish their prominence and position as one of the definitive and essential bands of our time.

Lisa O’Neill – The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right

Whilst it may not be a lead in to a new album any time soon, this latest EP release from Lisa O’Neill is a welcome return from one of the central voices in folk music today. And just as the folk music of yesteryear would sing out the hurt, toil and human endurance faced by ordinary working class people, so too does Lisa’s music reflect with needle-eye precision the turmoil and knock on effects of the political battles raging around us today. ‘The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right’ is a powerful hymn, a defiant anthem that rages against the capitalist regimes making up their own self-serving rule books in a stoically dignified, but no less enraged, manner. As emphasised in the traumatic video, laced with guest stars, the message feels like a line being drawn, the limits of where our cruelty to each other can go have been realised and now, maybe it is time for the pendulum to swing back the other way.

Vanity Mirror – White Butterfly

In a delightful amalgamation of the mid-sixties electric jangle of The Beatles and the irresistible primitivism of The Velvet Underground, Vanity Mirror conjure magic new sounds out of old recipes. Just let the shape of those verses take a hold and it is impossible not to summon thoughts of ‘Rubber Soul’ and the snaking melody of ‘Lady Godiva’s Operation’. The band are Brent Randall from Canada and Johnny Toomey from Los Angeles who used to play in a band called Electric Looking Glass but formed Vanity Mirror in order to develop a more lo-fi production with a songwriting style that references sixties style melodies. They have recently released their second album ‘Super Fluff Forever’.

Michelle David & The True Tones – Speak To Me

Well this is a banger indeed, a real super-spreader of a tune that takes up a long term residence inside your mind and simply refuses to recognise an eviction notice. This is what happens when you combine Motown production values, a strong song writing discipline and Northern Soul energy to a track, the sweet soul sounds of decades past still lives and breathes in 2025. The band themselves are a fusion of US and Dutch heritage who make music of a vintage soul and gospel persuasion that also manages to blend a gorgeous retro sound with a contemporary edge. This spiritual, open hearted floor filler has been released as a single this Autumn ahead of a brand new album called ‘Soul Woman’ set to arrive in February 2026.

Mood Bored – All The Time

This is a crunching indie guitar trio from the Netherlands who released this aching bittersweet gem from their EP ‘Too Much’, on Mattan Records, earlier this year. They represent a vibrant Dutch scene that includes names like Dutch Mustard and Tape Toy. ‘All The Time’ is especially notable for its grungy reverb and vocals that sing of burnout and existential pressure, asking “don’t you wanna break all the time?”. They already have some notable support slots under their belts, including Wolf Alice whose influence is apparent in the textures and pop inclinations, and their high energy performances have the desired attention grabbing effect.

Frankie Cosmos – Your Take On

Seen here in a punchy recent live clip, Frankie Cosmos perform a typically short and poetic track from their latest album ‘Different Talking’. They are an archetypal DIY indie band built around the music of Greta Kline who began the project in 2011, initially building a following through Bandcamp. They evolved into the larger ensemble featuring Alex Bailey, Katie Von Schleicher and Hugo Stanley and their music too evolved into a refined blend of bedroom pop and indie. Their latest was home recorded and self produced in upstate New York and refines the essence of Frankie Cosmos across 17 songs that rarely exceed the two minute mark. Greta’s presence has been felt across several other projects this year including ‘What Love Is’ by Soft Surface and a powerful version of ‘Hard Rain’ with the Kronos Quartet.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 3rd November 2025

Josienne Clarke – What Do I Do?

Josienne’s latest album ‘Far From Nowhere’ is a record created and recorded in the isolation of a remote Scottish cabin. Deliberately lo-fi and intimate, it is a fine piece of work that sits together well as a suite of songs wrestling with questions, anxieties and motions that play-out as if being processed in real time. There are no easy answers, in fact often there are no definitive explanations at all, just questions, and this song is a good example of that. It also stands as a singer-songwriter album that honours the tradition of artists charting their journey through life via music; when real experience and feelings are the source, it is often reflected in songs that have more bite and depth, as heard in the music of Josienne Clarke

The Len Price 3 – Gypsy Magick

New music is always welcome from a trio with some of the purest sixties garage rock sounds you can find in 2025. As the title of their new latest album ‘Misty Medway Magick’ indicates, they are a power pop outfit from Kent who have been heavily gigging and recording for over twenty years with all original members, none of whom are actually called Len Price. That sound is hard to resist but I never warm to mere retro photocopyists, it is when bundled in with creativity and original ideas in composition, as the Len Price 3 have always done, that the music comes alive, fizzing with energy and vitality. It is a big part of the Fruit Tree Records ethos that design classic sounds and genres can continue to be enjoyed outside of their original eras, provided they are approached with the right attitude. As far as I am concerned, ‘Gypsy Magick’ is just a rollicking 2025 pop record, so dig it.

Tristen – Because Your Love Is Mine

Tristen (full name Tristen Gaspadarek) is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee who first came to my attention around 2018 with the swooning song ‘Glass Jar’ that appeared on the album ‘Sneaker Waves’. She has released several records at this point and is about to put out the brand new ‘Unpopular Music’ LP on Well Kept Secret. As heard here, the melody driven sounds and personal narrative infused lilt to the lyrics remain at the fore. There is a deceptively gentle, hazy energy to the music of Tristen that ensures any new recordings are always worth checking out. Of this new song she confides it is “about the healing power of connection, something we are starved for in the age of artificial intimacy”.

Neko Case – Wreck

Neko Case first came to my attention when she topped the John Peel Festive Fifty over 25 years ago, the legendary DJ’s championing of new country artists around this time may not have been a huge part of his celebrated legacy, but I think the fact that Neko is still making essential new Americana today proves he knew a good thing when he heard it. Her latest album is called ‘Neon Grey Midnight Green’ and is out now on the Anti- label; she describes is as a “love letter and a testimony” to her friends and influential musicians, producers and activists who have passed away in recent years. In focusing on these departed souls Neko Case has once again produced a work with a deep timelessness that pushes country music into the stratosphere.

Good Flying Birds – Fall Away

Newly signed to Carpark and Smoking Room, the Good Flying Birds are a jangly guitar-pop outfit from the Midwest who have just released ‘Tallulah’s Tape’, a mix of stripped down home recordings that includes this falling tumbleweed of melancholic pop timbre. It features backing vocals from Wishy’s Nina Pitchkites along with Kevin Krauter on drums and demonstrates a fine appreciation of the DIY aesthetic and the enduring persuasiveness of melody and hooks. Earlier this year they sold 300 copies of a self released cassette in under a month but now sound poised to take it to take it a lot further on down the road.

Pino Palladino + Blake Mills ft. Chris Dave – Taka

Blake Mills is a guitar hero with a difference, a genuine sonic explorer and visionary who takes the absence of macho posturing adopted by indie guitar gods and pushes it into progressive territories others could not even imagine are possible. This piece is taken from his second collaboration with Welsh bassist Pino Palladino following on from their first 2021 set ‘Notes With Attachments’. New record ‘That Wasn’t A Dream’ picks up and expands upon the innovations from before, recorded at Sound City Studios it again features contributions from Chris Dave and Sam Gendel. Another dimension to the work this time around is Blake Mills’ use of a prototype fretless baritone sustainer guitar, making for a unique, woodwind-like texture to the sound. ‘Taka’ was the lead track from the album and here we capture them cooking up their magic in the studio.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 27th October 2025

Bernardo – Go Blue

The newly released debut album from this London based British / Portuguese singer songwriter is called ‘Secrets Of Six Figure Women’. Her full name is Sonia Bernardo and the record shows an independent free spirit whose music is floating somewhere around indie music and soulful electronica without truly belonging to either. With ‘Go Blue’ there is a lot going on underneath a framework that is deceptively simple. Piano droplets usher the track in, which settles for a moment in acoustic introspection before sonic references to trip-hop coalesce a sublime chorus part into play. There is something quite divine in the way the centre point of the track glides through some beautiful chord changes then, without warning, the whole thing is over. It really does leave the listener hungry for more, so further Bernardo investigating will certainly be around the corner.

Courtney Barnett – Stay In Your Lane

This is a very welcome return to the momentum and grunge attack heard on the first Courtney Barnett releases over ten years ago. Released on Fiction Records in the UK, it sees Courtney deliver her first new vocal performance in four years, her previous album being the 2023 ‘End Of The Day’ which was an instrumental score for the documentary ‘Anonymous Club’. This one includes a video that has a concept straight out of the Hammer Horror playbook, set in a blood stained hospital ward, it was directed by Alex Ross Perry who has previous with the V/H/S horror series. There is no word of a new album yet but if this is a hint of what we are in for when one does appear, then it could feel like a glorious comeback for this much loved artist.

The Cords – Fabulist

A purists throwback to the kind of DIY indie energy that fuelled the C86 movement in the eighties. ‘Fabulist’ is a fast peddling, jingle-jangling, melody grabbing, knee-bending and heel clicking ride through a bullseye hitting assault on liars and people who make their money from dishonest endeavours. The Cords have arrived with this stunning presentation of proper pop music from Scotland, they are a duo comprising sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi. Their self-titled debut album is newly released on Skep Wax and Slumberland and it too is overloaded with energy, attitude, zip, zap and hooks. Among the acts they have played with Camera Obscura and Belle & Sebastian stand out, for it is their brand of intellectually stimulating and musically satisfying Scottish pop that The Cords lean closest to. The comparison is legitimate, these are a band to keep an eye and an ear out for going forward.

Sarah Kate Morgan & Leo Shannon – Featherbed Medley

This is a live session rendition that has a rough, rural hue ahead of a rousing change in the second half that marks this duo out as performers with a wonderful touch. This is the title track of a new release whose seven tracks fall somewhere between an EP and an LP. It is the work of a Kentucky duo one of whom, Leo, is a multi-instrumentalist whilst the other, Sarah Kate, is a mountain dulcimerist. Theirs is a sound in which the influences of Irish music, Americana and traditional fiddle tunes all add vital elements to the sonic potion and yes, it is a little old-timey in its sensibilities but that notion is becoming increasingly irrelevant in 2025. Good music just exists sitting side by side with many different styles old and new, just as bad music exists in precisely the same way. That is the key difference ultimately, why listen to something bad when the good stuff is so readily available now. And Morgan & Shannon are indisputably delivering the good jelly aplenty, in all its down home, unplugged, warm, grainy and authentic glory.

Griff Lynch – Fe Lyncodd

A Welsh language record can feel a little out of reach to a non-Welsh speaking man like myself, but when the music and production are as deep and inviting as this it actually matters little. This is a beautiful tune whatever it should happen to be about, it is written with a craftsman’s ear for melodic progression and the sound has some heady textures and sparks flying in the background that serve to lock the listener in tight. Taken from his brand new album ‘Blas Melysa’r Mis’ released on Lwcus T, a record which also features James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers, Griff has translated the title of this song as meaning “he swallowed”. He continues, “this one is about greed and being careful what you wish for”. The thing is, now I know that, it kind of makes the music even more marvellous. For me, it is a sound that illustrates that exact type of reverie, it has a dreaminess but one that is anchored by reality. Superb stuff.

The Ocelots – The Good Of A Bad Year

My first encounter with this track was viewing the video online and I will admit, I was troubled by the piano and harmonica playing initially. I mean, he is not even close to hitting the right notes on that keyboard and the miming on the mouth organ has got to be amongst the worst ever seen on film, especially when you consider it is probably quite an easy instrument to mime to, you’ve only got to stick it in your mouth! But I completely parked those actually quite irrelevant thoughts as the music unfolded because the realisation dawned that this is actually a rather sublime and very well written song. What begins as a straight ahead piano ballad pulls away and blossoms into an elegantly swooning, gently pouring jar full of audio honey. The band are made up of twin brothers Ashley and Brandon Watson and this tune is taken from the album, released earlier this year, called ‘Everything, When Said Slowly’. They originated from Wexford in Ireland but are now based in Germany, however it is that easy Irish charm that permeates their winning brand of folk-rock and cinematic pop, so do not ignore the Ocelots.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 20th October 2025

Arima Ederra – Heard What You Said

Announcing the next chapter of her career, this is LA based musician Arima Ederra who, having released a pair of songs at the end of a tumultuous 2024, is now restored and inspired with the impression being that this is the first sighting of much exciting new music to come. Her critically acclaimed 2022 debut album ‘An Orange Colored Day’ landed after a four year period in which Arima fine tuned her craft behind the scenes. Now, in the artists own words, this new track is about “the strange grief of losing someone who was never really there. When shared memories become questions and years of connection dissolve into misunderstanding”. It is a deep, heavy soul sound on show here, packed with sonic drama and sung with pulchritudinous feeling, it whets the appetite with expectation for more to come. Watch out for Arima Ederra.

Emma Pollock – Future Tree

Best known as a key member of Scottish indie heroes and Peel favourites The Delgados, Emma Pollock has returned with her first solo material in almost a decade. The album ‘Begging The Night To Take Hold’ is already a 2025 favourite here and this track is one of the many highlights. She always seemed to have an adroit grasp of sweeping chamber pop in her old band and that expressive slant is very much at the forefront with this new release, it overflows with tone, tempo and colourful brush strokes across the whole record. ‘Future Tree’ is especially buoyant with those pounding, building keys and that craving voice but as always with Emma, there is a delicious undercurrent of melancholy to even things out. This is well worth a listen.

Love Spells – Wish I Didn’t Love You

If the previous tune instigated a little melancholy then this one will amplify the reverie and lock you down in that space for a further few minutes of longing, floating and wistfully sighing resignation. This is a newly released slice of haunting, dreamy pop written by Sir Taegen Harris (originally from Houston, it would appear that Love Spells is his creative outlet although information is a little sketchy) and produced by Alex Craig. In spite of the obvious yearning and desire evident in the lyric, this tune hovers around the territory of classic, dangerous obsession songs with lyrics like “I wish your name meant nothing but it lingers everywhere”.

Robin Ross & The TW Howlers – Walk With Me

This is one of the tracks from this outfits latest EP which also happens to be their debut release. It is a collaboration between singer songwriters Robin Ross and TW Howell, both from Pennsylvania, which presents five original compositions co-written and recorded in the early months of 2025. This is a fantastically ramshackle country come-on of a song, inviting the listener to “walk with me” as our seasoned narrator exudes an unfaded thirst for curiosity and exploration. The bending of guitar strings and soulful rough edges in the playing all add-up to a track with the kind of analogue warmth that many strive for but not all can achieve. But then Robin Ross can boast an audio engineering degree and was heavily involved in the opening of several recording studios, including Triple R Studios and Sound Complex, so he does know what he is about when it comes to audio.

Iraina Mancini – Running For Your Life

There is no new album from Iraina Mancini just yet but this new track did appear earlier this year, along with news that a follow up to her ‘Undo The Blue’ debut album was in the works. Whenever that does appear it promises to be a gem, especially if this release is anything to go by. Co-written with Mark Neary, ‘Running For Your Life’ hold on to all the vital elements that made Iraina stand out from the crowd in the first place; the steadfast dedication to classic song-writing standards, vintage productions values combined with a glossy modern sheen and a stylish, dramatic vocal presence that really pushes the Mancini music to the forefront with conviction and purpose. There should be a lot more to come from this corner of the pop world.

Laura Jurd – You Again

My recent feature on the late double bass maestro Danny Thompson also highlighted how little the worlds of jazz and folk have intersected, at least to the high standards that Danny hit on his solo jazz releases that pulled on the folk world he knew so well to stunning effect. Well, with her newly released album ‘Rites And Revelations’, trumpeter and composer Laura Jurd has added to this rather hidden lineage quite superbly. She is no stranger to cross pollination of the genres but this new album, featuring a freshly assembled quartet, has a singular focus towards folk lineage with a collection of compositions built around a simple, folk inspired melodies. As always, once Laura has established the framework, her playing and arranging results in fireworks abounding between all the musicians. Just listen to this live rendition and marvel at the explosive way the music erupts when that distorted electric guitar kicks in. There can be no doubt about it, in the year 2025 it is often the jazzers who are showing us the way forward.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 13th October 2025

Flock Of Dimes – Long After Midnight

We begin this week with a delightfully simple video idea that is startlingly effective alongside the lyrical premise of the song. In ‘Long After Midnight’ singer Jenn Wasner is caressing a gentle acoustic ballad in which the narrator is willingly giving everything she owns in an unshakeable loyal commitment to an ailing loved one. Viewed here, we see her offering these caring gestures whilst behind her the room is stripped bare, piece by piece, of belongings and furnishings. Jenn’s Flock Of Dimes project, which she has maintained alongside her indie duo Wye Oak, has long been a font for personal and musically bold exploration and so the new album from which this comes, ‘The Life You Save’ out now on Sub Pop Records, brings a sonically warm and personable new chapter to the project and is well worth a deep listen.

David Byrne – Everybody Laughs

David Byrne’s post Talking Heads solo career has seen many sudden gear shifts and changes in direction. His art-rock leanings have ensured he would remain an artist uncomfortable with sitting still or falling into a repetitive routine. Despite this though, he cannot shake that knack of his for creating a slice of celebratory, genre-defying and downright catchy pop such as this. It is to be found on the essential new album, his first in seven years, ‘Who Is The Sky?’ Every now and then in the career of an art rocker (I’m thinking of albums like Peter Gabriel’s ‘So’ or David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’) they put out an album with the intention of catching some mainstream attention, these are often surprisingly pleasurable listens. David Byrne may just have pulled that punch here, for the album is overflowing with melodious ideas and electrifying musings. That is what we hear on this one, an insistently bouncy number that runs through a shopping list framework of shared human experiences.

Walter Trout – Sign Of The Times

In a career that spans five decades Walter Trout has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the electric juggernauts of blues music. With a deep solo catalogue but also an impressive collaborative CV that has seen him shine during stints with Canned Heat and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (stepping into shoes previously filled by legends Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor), Trout deserves his place in the pantheon of modern day blues elder statesmen. That firecracker style of his is still blazing as it takes aim at the disconnect in a modern day society with their heads buried in screens, apparently oblivious to the wider world around. This is also the title track from Walter’s newly released album which is one of the strongest collection of new songs you will find in 2025. It features lyric writing contributions from his wife Marie all of which help shape an emotional core in tracks responding to the external chaos and internal battles we all feel living in these modern times.

Wednesday – Bitter Everyday

It is not only the older generation who are feeling disillusionment these days. Now already up to their sixth album, the newly released ‘Bleeds’, Wednesday sound typically punch drunk and cheesed off on this crunching highlight from the record. Frontwoman Karly Hartzman does seem to have definitively found her writing voice on the last two Wednesday albums and it is with good reason their “Wednesday creek rock” sound is beginning to win some wider acclaim and recognition. Still, the band are not without inner turmoil with some line-up changes; they were possibly a little wrong footed by the rising solo career of MJ Lenderman over the past couple of years. He remains a studio member but will no longer be touring with the band. Still, despite these bumps in the road, they sound more determined and likely than ever to break on through.

The Onlies – You Climb The Mountain

There is swingin’ old-time string band action aplenty from the US right now too, here in the hands of some lively young pickers, pluckers and slashers named Vivian Leva, Leo Shannon, Riley Calcagno, and Sami Braman. ‘You Climb The Mountain’ is the bands fourth album, although the first two were recorded before they could drive. They are all 27 years old now but got their start twenty years ago, with Vivian drafted in on guitar ten years later, as a kid band; this might be a clue as to why their playing is so tight and infused with passion and feel, what with two decades of practice and refinement behind them. The bands Riley says that “there’s a careful balance between crazy intensity and melancholic peace, I like that both of those exist on the album.” This pulsating, string-laden steam train of a modern folk and bluegrass album is out now.

Jalen Ngonda – All About Me

Finally this week are some sumptuous new laid-back vintage reggae vibes from soul singing supremo Jalen Ngonda, released on Daptone Records. He is joined by veteran keyboardist and producer Victor Axelrod and the pair wrote the lyrics then recorded the vocals all in one night. It already has the aura of a reggae classic to it, the song is a direct pitch for entry into the catalogue for bragging and self-aggrandisement songs. With lyrics like “I may cloud up your day, yet I light up your night and by the morning I make you feel alright” there is no modest humility being portrayed by Jalen here, it is a peacocking strut in every sense and he nails it with his vocal. The genius in the performance is appearing in the final verse, for all his posturing and bravado, there is a little crack in Ngonda’s voice that tells you, he really wants this. This may well be a new route away from the Motown sophistication Jalen has previously shown, but it is no less wonderful for it, so dig in.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 6th October 2025

Hannah Frances – Surviving You

This is taken from Hannah’s new album ‘Nested In Tangles’ which is out this week via Fire Talk. Having already caught the eye in 2024 with a stunning debut album ‘Keeper Of The Shepherd’ this immediate follow up continues to dazzle and amaze. No mere confessional folky, Hannah has a free flowing range that recalls the likes of Kate Bush and Jeff Buckley but as legitimate as those comparisons are, the fact is she possesses the eloquence and imaginative expression to make this style her own. Parts of the new album feature collaborative arrangements with Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen; something detectable in the eruptions of free jazz and progressive flourishes but the Hannah Frances core magnifies all elements into one heady brew, poetically honing her thematic meditations on generational trauma and maladaptive patterns with a musical experience that is deeply rewarding. Do not miss out on this one.

Jessie Kilguss – Howard Johnson’s

This is a preview track from Kilguss’s sixth album ‘They Have A Howard Johnson’s There’, a line that features in this superb reflection fuelled rock/pop tune, which is due to be released on November 14th. Jessie is a former actress who made songwriting her full time artistic outlet after working with musical heroes Marianne Faithfull and Mary Margaret O’Hara in the Tom Waits / William Burroughs musical ‘The Black Rider’. This song was inspired by the Al Pacino movie ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ and specifically the line spoken by Pacino “I’ll charter a plane to Algeria, they have a Howard Johnson’s there”. Kilguss’s father Howard had passed away a month before her seeing this movie and so the song stands as both a tribute to him and an inspirational spark for what the songwriter felt was a ridiculous line in the movie. ‘Howard Johnson’s’ is a wonderful, slightly forlorn and yet simultaneously uplifting and loving song that deserves some recognition. The nostalgia in the accompanying vintage advert filled video is a blast too, so enjoy.

Jose James – Tokyo Daydream

Released earlier this year, this irresistible slice of soulful electro with jazzy inflections is taken from Jose James thirteenth studio album ‘1978: Revenge Of The Dragon’. There is something in the pulse of the electro beat that sounds so warm and natural, which might have something to do with the fact that the record was recorded live to tape in a manner recalling the analogue heyday of the seventies. Jose has long been a voice in the contemporary soul and jazz worlds who is impossible to pin down, his groove is just so versatile, so cosmically old and new. The new record combines four originals alongside four new interpretations of late 70s classics and is a must hear for any fans of these styles who are on a quest for something bold, innovative and unique. Not only that, but it is a joy to listen to, so dig in.

Southern Avenue – Upside

As we have taken a soulful turn, let’s keep it going with some deliciously rootsy sounding funky soul and a killer chorus hook to boot. This one is an uplifting live version of a standout track on the bands debut album released this year on Alligator Records. Recorded in Memphis, the sense of that regions musical roots merging with gospel and funk is tangible, just as the impression of Southern Avenue being a band that can really cut it live is equally hard to ignore. The message carries a positive punch as well, with a lyric that pushes for the shedding of old concerns and the welcoming of the winds of change with open arms. “Every day’s a new day, find me on the upside” indeed. In the light of the times we live in, the mere act of setting out each morning with that attitude is a heavy act of defiance and one that I willingly try to embrace.

GoGo Penguin – What We Are And What We Are Meant To Be

Taken from GoGo Penguin’s latest album ‘Necessary Fictions’, the title of this modern jazz configuration is a strong indicator to the inspiration for the compositions creation. Pianist Chris Illingworth described it as being born of “deep reflection” and the music conveys sonically the abrasive dividing line between the reality of the people we are and the dream of the people we aspire to be. In that sense, each of the audio facets that are the building blocks of this piece, the delicate piano patterns, the restless drum grooves, the throbbing of the bass at the heart of it all, the deep washes of double bass and the ambient ever-presence of the synths each serve to capture an element of the whole that only becomes fully identifiable when everything is combined, which seems to happen both naturally and with some resistance. All told, this electric Manchester trio are still making and creating sound in a manner that demands attention and delights the ears.

U – The Bitter Withy

And finally, we conclude this week’s selection in a place that is one-part traditional old-England folk, another-part haunting and a wonderfully baffling puzzle all rolled into one. It comes from an album set to be released on 10th October called ‘Archenfield’ on the Lex Records label. There in lies the first mystery, for the record has been constructed by a sample collagist called U about whom little is known. In putting this audio delight together U has dug deep into archive recorded material, found sound and sourced other atmospheric samples all relevant to the area in Herefordshire known as Archenfield. The ambience of the whole record, in conjunction with the mesmeric appearances and disappearances of voices from another age, both bring folk and folklore into the current realm in tandem with time-locking them into history. Do these voices speak to us today or is our connection too severed to ever reach back that far? ‘The Bitter Withy’ itself is centuries old, telling the tale of a child Christ and a murderous misuse of his powers, and it sounds archaic too; it plays as if it were broadcasting from the needle on an antique shellac player which has just been wound for the final time, never to play again. This one is unique in every sense, one of those albums that will not survive as background music but for those who want immersion, confusion, patient gratification, questions without easy answers and a positive banquet of imaginative audio wonderment, then U’s ‘Archenfield’ album will surely become a treasured possession.

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Fresh Juice

Fresh Juice 29th September 2025

PINS – I’ll Be Yours

This Manchester all female have been releasing attention grabbing indie-rock albums for nearly fifteen years now and make a welcome return here with more classic sounding original music. They are leaning into a sixties wall-of-sound aesthetic here, albeit one that still thrashes those melodic guitar hooks to Jesus And Mary Chain levels of fuzziness. When they were starting out, founding member Faith Vern brought her fashion photographers eye to the mix, ensuring that PINS always had a stylish swagger to their post-punk aggression with vivid nods to the Riot Grrrl movement. All these elements are clearly still flourishing today, so it is great to hear news of this return for their previous release was 2020’s ‘Hot Slick’, a wait that felt far too long.

Jeff Tweedy – Out In The Dark

The new album from Wilco front man Tweedy is a 30 track, triple album epic called ‘Twilight Override’. He recorded it at Wilco’s home base The Loft in Chicago in collaboration with his sons Spencer and Sammy as well as James Elkington, Liam Kazar and Finom’s Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart. Unmistakably the work of Jeff, it proves him to be a song writer still very much in service of the creative spark and with a record this size, that tap is clearly still pouring a potent natural supply of inspiration. He himself describes the record as a reaction to “the bottomless basket of rock bottom” and it is indeed a defiant action against the despair of modern times expressed through his unique musical vision.

The Divine Comedy – The Last Time I Saw The Old Man

This is just so beautifully on the money, relatable too if you have ever found yourself reflecting on your final moments with a close elderly relative. It requires a certain lightness of touch in tandem with a fluent musical vocabulary but, if there is a recording artist from the past 35 years who has consistently displayed these qualities it is undoubtedly Divine Comedy mainstay Neil Hannon. The bands newly released album is called ‘Rainy Sunday Afternoon’ and it shows a deliberate emphasis on chamber pop orchestration and offers an overriding sense of introspection. A perfect soundtrack for reflection as we enter the colder winter months, the sense of autumnal melancholy is striking and Neil himself, when talking about the album, has said it is a way to “work through some stuff”.

Half Man Half Biscuit – Horror Clowns Are Dickheads

If you need a lift after the previous recommendation then this should provide enough of a contrast. Nigel Blackwell’s band had their oeuvre nailed down on arrival forty years ago and they have stuck with it brilliantly, often hilariously, ever since. The recipe has always been energetic punkish indie-rock as a bedrock for Nigel’s dead pan mocking alongside devastatingly observed social and cultural satire. New album ‘All Asimov And No Fresh Air’ features the definitive take down of the profiteering hype around ‘Record Store Day’ (“oh I do like to re-release my b-sides” sung to the tune of “I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside”) but it opens with this instant classic, a song that instructs “all horror clowns are dickheads and if you have a phobia of them, you’re a dickhead too”.

Joan Shelley – Here In The High And Low

Joan Shelley’s new album ‘Real Warmth’ arrives, as many new releases have done in the current climate, heavily troubled by the unstable world conditions we live in. There are multiple layers to the “real warmth” she is referring to not least the collaborative, tangible connection we humans often isolate ourselves from in an online space and also the climate anxiety that is provoked by our warming planet. But she also took her mission drive to the recording process too, seeking a looser, more interactive and live feel to the sessions by recording them with musician friends in a snowy and remote Canadian hide away. That was definitely a sound move as can be heard here on the records superb cascading opening track, after which the rest of the album holds up equally well.

Julianna Riolino – Seed

So it feels like a closing of the circle with this weeks final selection for, much like the opening number, this is a cut swinging its sixties style hooks with a bolshy, assured swagger. For a song that begins like a 21st century take on The Shirelles, the way it ends in a hurricane of rising noise with Julianna repeated spitting out the refrain “I was your seed” is really quite sensational. This is taken from a new album due in October called ‘Echo In The Dust’ from the former member of Daniel Romano’s Outfit. Hailing from Canada, she has pursued a solo path since releasing a single called ‘Be My Man’ in 2019 and with this follow up to 2022’s ‘All Blue’ LP there is clear evidence of an artist who has absolutely found her voice.

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