Categories
Published Podcasts

Junior VP, Madanes, J Flex Feat. Shay Brown & Hydro D, Nearly Skulls

You can listen to every episode of Nick Tann’s Fresh Music Fix right here on nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or via RSS.

Subscribe to the email list and get a reminder every Monday when a new episode drops.

If you enjoy the show and would like to support it, you can also become a supporter on Patreon.

I’m Nick Tann, musician and songwriter, sharing the best new music you haven’t heard yet.

Episode 48

We welcome in 2026 with a stonker of an episode.

We kick off with Junior VP – Easy Come Easy Go. They say:

Junior VP may be a new musical act but their roots lead back to the early 2000s. Songwriter and singer guitarist Ross played in bands with drummer Steven in the space between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Now with cooler, older heads and the inclusion of bass player Andy, the trio have created something really special.

Their name comes from the typically American job position of Junior Vice President, which pays tribute to the US college rock and indie emo bands that inspire their sound. Pop hooks, gnarly guitar sounds and super interesting arrangements combine to form something familiar but fresh. Broadly appealing but far from middle of the road.

Their debut album Do You Feel the Same? is set to release in 2026, date to be confirmed. With high energy singles such as Easy Come, Easy Go releasing December 12, Junior VP are proving to be ones to watch out for. Just do not ask them to manage your company.

They win points for having a website that you should click on now
https://www.juniorvpband.com/

Next up is one of my new favourite artists Madanes
https://nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com/index.php/2025/12/08/ep46/

and his new single Laura Ingraham. If you are wondering who that is then wonder no longer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Ingraham

It is another great song and when you understand the context then it is even better.

You might not think we would play J Flex ft Shay Brown and Hydro D – Champion, but then you would be wrong, wouldn’t you, because we bloody loved it. I am afraid I cannot tell you much, if anything, about the artist as they did not give me any information. Keep subscribed for updates.

Speaking of subscribers, the subscribers poll results will be announced next week and interviews will follow.

Finally, a lesson in songwriting from Nearly Skulls – Planet Elon.

We played another one of their songs last year
https://nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com/index.php/2025/06/16/the-forensics-nearly-skulls-nick-tann-and-the-whole-family-candy-opera/

so you can click there for their details.

So there you have it. A whole year of my Fresh Music Fix and it looks to have worked. We have subscribers, we have listeners and streamers, and we have some great music.

If you want to support the podcast then you can join our Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/c/nicktannsfreshmusicfix

or buy me a coffee
https://buymeacoffee.com/NickTann

or both.

You can listen to every episode of Nick Tann’s Fresh Music Fix right here on nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or via RSS.

Subscribe to the email list and get a reminder every Monday when a new episode drops.

If you enjoy the show and would like to support it, you can also become a supporter on Patreon.

I’m Nick Tann, musician and songwriter, sharing the best new music you haven’t heard yet.

Categories
Published Podcasts

Stand Out Tracks 2025

You can listen to every episode of Nick Tann’s Fresh Music Fix right here on nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or via RSS.

Subscribe to the email list and get a reminder every Monday when a new episode drops.

If you enjoy the show and would like to support it, you can also become a supporter on Patreon.

I’m Nick Tann, musician and songwriter, sharing the best new music you haven’t heard yet.

These are the stand out tracks for 2025 compiled by Chris and myself.

Enjoy

Olvine – Savanomano, 0234 – ALL THE TIME, Masi Masi – She’s Trouble, Grimson – I Made My Therapist Cry Today, Keith Buckman – Of the Low Weald and the Marsh, Amity – Bite Me!, Girl For Samson – Cigarette, Pleasure Centre – Favourite, Grete – see u more, Lea G – Again and Again, Van Royale – Gold, The Real Flower Pots – Birdie, DOTHS – Communication’s Failed, The Mighty Heartache – Love Is, JoanovArc – Hey Sister, Marvin B Naylor – Startboy, Laptop – I Don’t Know, Johnny Marie And The Lonesome Petunias – She Caught Car Lights, Shallowdrown – I Bet You Hate Me, Around About Dusk – The Swarm, SUBSCENE – Some Days We Float, Cargo Cult – Poison Fame, MADANES – Your Dog

 

If you want to take part in the Subscribers tracks of the year then you need Subscribe to the podcast website. On the 29th December all subscribers will receive and email with a link to a secret page (Oooooo..) where you will be able to listen to all the nominees. Exciting eh? But you need to subscribe, geddit? Have a cool yule!

You can listen to every episode of Nick Tann’s Fresh Music Fix right here on nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or via RSS.

Subscribe to the email list and get a reminder every Monday when a new episode drops.

If you enjoy the show and would like to support it, you can also become a supporter on Patreon.

I’m Nick Tann, musician and songwriter, sharing the best new music you haven’t heard yet.

Categories
Published Podcasts

The British IBM, Mélanie Pain, How Dare You, Cargo Cult

You can listen to every episode of Nick Tann’s Fresh Music Fix right here on nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or via RSS.

Subscribe to the email list and get a reminder every Monday when a new episode drops.

If you enjoy the show and would like to support it, you can also become a supporter on Patreon.

I’m Nick Tann, musician and songwriter, sharing the best new music you haven’t heard yet.

The British IBM, Mélanie Pain, How Dare You, Cargo Cult

The British IBM, Mélanie Pain, How Dare You and Cargo Cult make up Episode 47 and what an episode it is. This is the last normal episode of the year. The next episode will be Chris and my Pick of the Year, followed by a two week break. After that comes the results episode of the Subscribers Choice special. If you want to know more about that, subscribe to the website and all will be revealed.

We kick off with The British IBM and Things Change. What a tune. I could not remember where they were from but it turns out they are based in Cambridge. Here is what I managed to glean from the internet.

The British IBM officially launched in 2012, led by singer songwriter and retro enthusiast Aidy, alongside David Martin on bass and Scott Wilson on drums. Their debut self titled album was produced with Neil Bugs Rogers and featured the single Animal, which came with a well received animated video.

Their track The British IBM gained wider attention after being used in the trailer for the documentary From Bedrooms to Billions, telling the story of the British video games industry. The video featured Iain Lee and paid homage to the BBC film Micro Men.

In 2014 Aidy played an expo residency in Las Vegas as part of the Classic Gaming Expo. The following year the band released their second album Psychopaths Dream in Black and White, which featured a wide range of instrumentation including cello, bassoon and sitar. Tracks from the album appeared in TV shows including Life Sentence and How I Met Your Father, as well as the Bedrooms to Billions Amiga Years documentary.

After a line up change in 2017, the band released further singles before putting out their third album Play the Game in 2019. During lockdown Aidy began streaming live acoustic performances on Twitch every Friday night, which later inspired their fourth album Friday Night at the Twitch Bar.

In 2025 the band released their fifth studio album Things Change, with Aidy documenting the entire process on YouTube.

Website
https://www.thebritishibm.com/

Next up is Mélanie Pain with Dreamloop, all the way from France. Excellent stuff and a wonderful bio to go with it.

Recorded live in the studio with her band, Dreamloop radiates raw and immediate energy. The spontaneity of the performance is clear from the very first note. Mélanie Pain’s voice, always soft and precise, takes on an almost incantatory quality, with the chorus acting as a call to the surface and a glimmer of light in the fog.

Balancing pop sweetness with inner vertigo, Dreamloop is described as a refuge song, a way to navigate the night and a delicate exploration of depression and the mental states that confine us.

Dreamloop is released on October 30.

Mélanie Pain is an iconic voice who has been evolving her solo journey through pop, folk and intimate poetry for over 20 years. She returns with How and Why, a stripped back and luminous album recorded live with longtime bandmates. The record draws inspiration from artists such as Kings of Convenience, Iron and Wine and Emilíana Torrini, and features nine English language tracks exploring emotion, melancholy and rebirth.

Touring begins in September 2025, including UK dates in Shoreham On Sea, Southampton, Hastings, Weston Super Mare and London.

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/melaniepainmusic/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/melaniepainmusic

And so to How Dare You with S.O.S. What a band. They completely rocked my world.

Born out of Sacramento, California, How Dare You are a modern rock duo blending elements of nu metal and metalcore with raw and unfiltered emotion. Vocalist Noah Duarte teamed up with guitarist Matt English to create a sound that is both therapeutic and confrontational.

Their debut single S.O.S is an unfiltered outcry against disconnection, aimed at anyone who has ever felt unheard or invisible. It is a heavy statement about reaching breaking point, reclaiming your voice and refusing to stay silent.

Their influences range from Issues, Three Days Grace and Korn through to cinematic film scores, EDM and modern alternative rock. If you are into bands like Bad Omens, Beartooth, I Prevail, Silverstein or Motionless in White, this one is for you.

They play live on January 17, 2026 at Goldfield Trading Post in Roseville, California.

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/DontYouDare.ca/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/dyd.ca/

And so to the track that did its best to evade me but I got there in the end.

Cargo Cult with their stunning track Poison Fame. It took me a month to track this one down, but it was worth the effort.

Linktree
https://linktr.ee/cargocultband

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@CargoCultBand

Are any of these your new favourite band?

Let me know.

You are all champions.

You can listen to every episode of Nick Tann’s Fresh Music Fix right here on nicktannsfreshmusicfix.com, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or via RSS.

Subscribe to the email list and get a reminder every Monday when a new episode drops.

If you enjoy the show and would like to support it, you can also become a supporter on Patreon.

I’m Nick Tann, musician and songwriter, sharing the best new music you haven’t heard yet.