Author: Nick Tann

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As you can see here, my beautiful new desk and chair combo… or can you?

Episode 43

Johnny Marie and The Lonesome Petunias, The Lost Trades, Soft Cotton County, Drop Dead Gorgeous

Anyhoo, to business!

Kicking off with the wonderful Johnny Marie and The Lonesome Petunias and She Caught Car Lights.

This is the email they sent me:

Good day, Nick. Yet another Johnny Marie project. This one is a proper band instead of two guys in a studio with measuring tape and calculators. I appreciate the fact that you have played Flower Pots recently and that if you decide to include this in a future episode it will likely be in the distant future. Celebrate me for remembering to attach the song. Thank you for what you do.

Johnny Marie (Girl for Samson, The Real Flower Pots) & the Lonesome Petunias are a Kansas City band currently recording songs for their 7th album.

She Caught Car Lights is the first release from the band since the 2024 album Sauro!

Links:
Bandcamp | SoundCloud | Website | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram

Next up was the delightful trio The Lost Trades and the equally gorgeous track Float Me On Your River.

This is the email Phil sent me:

Hi Nick, hope you’re well.

I’m excited to share the new single from The Lost Trades, which is the first with our new line-up of Jamie, Jess and Phil. The song is called Float Me On Your River and is a dreamy, 60s-inspired reflection on patience, acceptance and growth.

We’ll be out and about playing a few shows during November and December and have plans for more new music soon.

All the best,
Phil

The Lost Trades return with a new line-up and a familiar retro Californian groove.

West Country Folk/Americana trio The Lost Trades will give the world a taste of their new line-up on 7 November 2025, in the shape of the single Float Me On Your River.

The song is the first new music from the band to feature Jess Vincent, who joined after the departure of Tamsin Quin at the end of 2024. The new line-up of Jamie, Jess and Phil have more releases planned for 2026, with the retro groove of Float Me On Your River leading the charge.

The Lost Trades are a Folk/Americana Trio, based in the West Country, with a cool Laurel Canyon vibe. With a sound that is reminiscent of the California folk scene of the late 60s and early 70s, their three-part harmonies have been described as “flawless,” “spine tingling,” and “magical.”

After a global pandemic cut short their first tour after just a single sold-out gig, the band retreated to their songwriting rooms to work on their debut album The Bird, The Book & The Barrel. Released in June 2021, the album spent 8 months in the Official UK Folk Albums Chart. The follow-up, Petrichor, was released in March 2023 and immediately followed suit, entering the chart at #31.

A live performance involves easy interchanging of instruments, including guitar, ukulele, bass and percussion at different points. There’s always a fun intimacy to the show, with the group engaging in comfortable repartee with each other and the audience like a group of old friends.

Soft Cotton County charmed me with their ethereal single Remember.

They use a plugger — the wonderful Emma Scott at Pluggin Baby. She sends me many a fine song, also making sure I get all the relevant information about the artists she plugs. This is some of her handiwork:

Currently working on new tracks for an album next year, Remember is the first to be completed. A second track is near completion and marked for release later this year.

Based in and around Richmond-Upon-Thames, classified as Indie, Dream Pop or Futuristic Folk by some North American radio stations, Soft Cotton County has a few additional colours in the mix that can sometimes transfer to other delicates.

Flitting between indie labels since the last century, with a host of talented guest performers, this project was primarily a vehicle for Andy’s songwriting.

Andy connected with 5000 Records in 2009 when he sent a selection of his songs to several independent labels. A few replied positively, but only Sascha Panknin at 5000 made an immediate offer to release an album of remixed versions.

Subsequently, re-imagined with the eponymous album on 5000 Records, there have been four Soft Cotton County EPs on the label to date, all meeting with critical acclaim.

10 Years of Travel released in 2024 was the long-awaited second album and included four singles.

Since their first album, they have gradually been moving towards the light. Steve Lamacq of the BBC played the title track of their acclaimed EP Leave Tomorrow and two other tracks have since featured on his shows on 6 Music.

They have the ear (sometimes both ears) of notable presenters in Germany and have been played on Paul Baskerville’s NDR show and Radio One Berlin, as well as building a following on college radio in the US and Canada.

Chris Pearson of Radio Caroline also looks favourably upon Soft Cotton County’s sound of milk and rain, and played Blue on Blue several times on his Saturday show.

Recently, the band were supported by radio legend Johny Kennedy on his X-Posure Radio Show. “Absolutely lovely… Beautiful stuff.” Everyone was thrilled.

Band personnel on Remember:
Shira Fox – Vocals
Spells – Additional vocals
Andy Coombs – Vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming, recording, editing
Sascha Panknin – Programming, engineering, editing

Musical influences:
Shira: Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Thom Yorke, Regina Spektor
Sascha: Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Trevor Horn, Brian Eno, Quincy Jones
Andy: Mazzy Star, Kate Bush, Julee Cruise, Everything but the Girl, Talk Talk, Prefab Sprout, Roxy Music, Peter Gabriel, Bowie, Dylan, Brian Eno, Johnny Cash

For fans of: Saint Etienne, Mazzy Star, Peter Gabriel, Everything but the Girl, Bowie, Julee Cruise, Kate Bush, London Grammar

Links:
Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | Bandcamp

Drop Dead, Gorgeous wrap up the show with their new single Burn.

Emma Scott also sent this one over.

Drop Dead Gorgeous emerged in the mid-2000s with an emotionally charged take on post-hardcore that helped define the era.

As teenagers from Denver, their 2006 debut In Vogue became a landmark for Rise Records, blending synth-laced breakdowns, theatrical flair and raw vulnerability.

Follow-up albums like Worse Than a Fairy Tale and The Hot N’ Heavy cemented their place in the scene, influencing a wave of bands that followed.

After a decade-long hiatus, core members Daniel “Stills” Stillman, Danny Cooper and Jake Hansen returned in 2024 with a string of surprise shows and, in 2025, released their first new music in years with the single Six Feet.

Now, the band is set to continue that momentum with their upcoming track Burn, produced by Elliot Polokoff and mastered by Grammy-winner Ted Jensen.

“Two decades deep, we’ve written a song that feels like light and shadow colliding, where melody and dissonance bleed together, and heavy and alternative dissolve into something that refuses to be defined.” – Danny Stillman, vocals.

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify

Emma gives good bio, as you can see.

I rattled on about the Subscribers’ Choice Special show. If you want to take part, simply enter your email address in the appropriate place and click subscribe at nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com.

There you have it, another episode in the bag.

I recorded this yesterday evening around 6 pm. I felt I rushed it a bit as I had left it a bit late and wanted to get to my dinner, soup, and it was delish.

I intend to record next week’s episode during the week, so here’s hoping.

Hi Drew xx