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ep40

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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 40

And so we are 40 and we have Lea G, Poppie Marynns and Nika Redhart, Rivia, and Joanovarc giving their best.

Also I teased a brand new song that I started to write last weekend. No lyrics or title yet but I will be sharing the journey this little tune makes, but in the meantime…

Lea G

Lea G’s track Again and Again is just superb and her website is well worth a squizz:
https://www.lea-g-music.com/

She has a London gig on the 11th of November as well as plenty of opportunities to see and hear more of her.

Poppie Marynns (feat. Nika Redhart)

Poppie Marynns features the wonderful Nika Redhart on his latest single Don’t Let Me Go.
It’s a great track, especially if you like guitar solos and cracking vocals.
His Facebook page gives more than I ever could:
https://www.facebook.com/pop.marynns/

Rivia

Rivia and a banger of a tune, Hey Sister, are in that third spot.
This is what their bio says and I have no reason to think otherwise.

The four-piece pop punk band from Liverpool, RIVIA, announce their upcoming summer release for 2025, new single Piece of You will be available on 8 August 2025.

This release comes off the back of RIVIA’s success on the This Feeling stage at Isle of Wight Festival 2025. Piece of You has all the hallmarks of a RIVIA anthemic single, big choruses and nostalgic pop punk overtones.

With support from BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 1’s Alyx Holcombe, and BBC Future Alternative, RIVIA continue their ascent into the second half of 2025. With over 100,000 Spotify streams, they give their all to their loyal supporters, best seen at their live shows.

RIVIA have performed in major cities including Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, and London, with more shows to come.

They have worked once again with Sugar House Productions, and their last single Fallin’ remains the band’s biggest success to date.

Coming from Liverpool, RIVIA’s repertoire has taken them across the country, supporting artists such as The Wombats, Hold Fast, The Sheratons, Mallory Knox, Muddy Elephant, and Bloxx.

RIVIA have performed to thousands at festivals such as YNOT, Endorset, and headlining the This Feeling stage at Isle of Wight 2025, Den Fest, and Bikerstock.

There is always a huge buzz whenever RIVIA take the stage.

Exciting times await for RIVIA.

Socials:
Instagram: @rivia.band

Bloody kids with their no websites, but I digress.

Joanovarc

Joanovarc and the rocking Hey Sister bring episode 40 to a close and give us a very interesting read from their bio.

Since forming in 2015, JoanOvArc have built an impressive legacy, from their debut album Ride of Your Life recorded at Rockfield Studios, to global tours across Europe, Japan, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the USA, including a headline set at Hollywood’s Viper Room.

2025 marks a defining year for JoanOvArc. After the success of their 2024 EP Escape The Fire, the band hit the ground running with a packed tour schedule, explosive live shows, and brand new material that proves why they are one of the UK’s most exciting rock acts.

The Escape The Fire EP set the tone for this new era, featuring the title track, which stormed onto Kerrang Radio, and On My Way, a Planet Rock favourite. Both tracks came with videos by Very Metal Art, showcasing the band’s evolving visual style.

Building on that momentum, 2025 has already delivered fresh music. The single You Don’t Know dropped on 1 August, and the new release Hey Sister showcases their raw energy, big hooks, and unmistakable attitude.

Their first UK headline tour has solidified their reputation as one of the most exciting live acts on the circuit. Expect more new releases, festival appearances, and a live show that is all killer and no filler.

Band members, instruments, and hometowns:
Emma Hodgson – Lead Vocal/Guitar (St Ives, Cambridgeshire)
Shelley Walker – Lead Guitar/Vocal (Knebworth, Hertfordshire)
Keira Kenworthy – Bass/Vocal (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)
Chloe Whitworth – Drums/Vocal (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Musical influences: Muse, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, Halestorm, Shinedown, In This Moment, Queens of the Stone Age, Primus, Frank Zappa, Rammstein, Free, Whitesnake.

About Hey Sister:

Hey Sister tells the emotional story of a sister trapped in an abusive, controlling relationship, fighting to reclaim her freedom and self-worth. Written from the perspective of a loving sibling, it is a heartfelt promise of unconditional support and a reminder that no matter how far she falls, help and hope remain.

In their own words:

“We are all female, all vocalists. We have a strong stage presence, passionate songs and fierce vocals. JoanOvArc is all about the music and not the individuals. It is a family unit of great friends sharing great experiences, travelling the world, meeting great people and making powerful music that talks about real life.”

“We have escaped a real fire while recording at Rockfield Studios, dodged missile attacks in the Middle East, toured with metal legends Huntress on Sunset Boulevard, and performed to fanatical audiences in Tokyo.”

Socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JOANovARCofficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanovarc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joanovarc1

I’ll be trying out some alternative advertising for the podcast so let me know if you see it anywhere. BYE!

p.s. Drew I checked all the links and they all work! Aren’t you proud of me?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

ep39

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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.

 Laptop, BJD, Around About Dusk, Shallowdrown

I mention my band’s gig on the 1st November at The Spice of Life, deep in the heart of Soho. Details here: https://nicktann.co.uk/2025/09/08/the-spice-of-life-saturday-1-november-2025/

A bit of a rushed one this week as I recorded this on the Sunday before the Monday when each episode goes live and I felt the pressure!

And off we go with the marvellous Laptop and I Don’t Know. A wonderful trundle down the road of a song from the New York father and son duo with a distinct Beck type vibe. Lovely bit of bio here:

https://linktr.ee/laptoptheband

Upcoming album On This Planet (spring 2026).

Written years ago by Jesse Hartman and his then four-year-old son Charlie (no co-frontman) after Charlie gleefully sabotaged his first standardized test, the song channels the spirit of rebellion, absurdity, and questioning authority.

It’s a back-to-school anthem with a deadpan bite, equal parts childlike defiance and Orwellian pushback. As the chorus shrugs: “I don’t know, I’m just a kid — thinking about silly stuff.” You can even hear the actual real Charlie as a 4-year-old during the intro and outro, as he and dad wrote this crazy song.

The track’s recording is as universal as its theme. Originally tracked in Valencia, Spain on one of Laptop’s chaotic family trips, it later picked up overdubs in Nevis in the Caribbean before being finalized in the band’s hometown of New York City. Along the way, it pulled in a cinematic cast: Nevis vocalist Anna Hadeed, whose playful lines spar with Jesse and Charlie; Lulu, Hartman’s daughter, standing in for young Charlie with echoes of the song’s origin; and a raw, soulful harmonica turn from Santo Fazio — an actor and longtime Hartman muse, now lending a theatrical edge to Laptop’s sound.

“This song has always cracked me up. Charlie was four when we came up with it, after he came home from this IQ test. We knew he was a child genius (for real), but he fails this test ‘cause he gleefully answers every question with purposeful wrong answers or just a plain ‘I don’t know.’ The song stuck with us all these years because it felt bigger: a child’s joke that is really a protest anthem. And boy, do we need a protest anthem right now. It’s rebellion by accident, which turns out to be the perfect kind,” says Jesse Hartman.

The video, directed by Jesse, was filmed at Bravo Studios in New York. It reimagines a classroom as a surreal stage: Jesse and Charlie at school desks, Korina Deming as the stern teacher (and also choreographer of the dances), and Stephanie Koffroth as “Lulu,” the child stand-in. Shot against a green screen and punctuated with animated detours (based on Smbat Harutyunyan’s brilliant animation on “Weirder”), toy harmonicas, and absurdist deadpan, it transforms the origin story into a playful, cinematic echo of the song’s fever dream.

Laptop also recently staged an epic return to New York live performance with a 14-piece band at Sony Hall — their first hometown show in two decades. A Stop Making Sense–like spectacle, it underscored the scale and ambition of Laptop’s reboot and set the stage for the release of I Don’t Know.

Second up was the wonderful BJD and Cold Bias. All I can tell you is that his first name is Barry and he puts me in mind of Audioslave and Bob Mould’s Sugar album. I know nothing else so if you find anything please post it here.

By the way, this is Gretchen, the sweet guitar I bought from the lovely Matthew in Bristol yesterday. I hope to be featuring his band in the very near future.

Also from Bristol is the wonderful Around About Dusk and The Swarm. Surely channelling FOTP (friend of the podcast) Anja McCloskey with a hypnotic gypsy jazz vibe. Socials and stuff can be found on their Facebook page. No website for them that I could find.

And finally the wonderful Shallowdrown and I Bet You Hate Me. A tactile guitar sound that puts me in mind of Paramore Playing God (no YOU look it up!). I bloody loved this song!

Socials abound here and check out their launch in Leicester on the 22 of November:

I mention my band’s gig on the 1st November at The Spice of Life, deep in the heart of Soho. Details here: https://nicktann.co.uk/2025/09/08/the-spice-of-life-saturday-1-november-2025/

Categories
Published Podcasts

ep. 38

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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 Kettle Zone, Amity, Freefall, The Mighty Heartache

It’s episode 38 and it’s a banger with a compilation of old jingles from the Is This Thing On Podcast that I used to produce at the end. We kick off with The Kettle Zone and Every Other Summer’s Day. A kind of Paul Weller/Prefab Sprout undercurrent and damn fine it is too! I was a little too critical of some of this fine track and on third listen I have changed my mind somewhat. It’s pretty much Alan Parkinson from Midlothian. He has a rather jolly Facebook page here.

Then we have a welcome return of Amity and Ephemeral. A fine track that drew in some debate from Chris and myself. He has a spanky new website that is well worth a visit despite the fact that we are not mentioned once! https://amitymiller.com/.

Next the wonderful Freefall come along with their great single Fire. All the way from the home of funk, North Wales, they put me in mind of The Spin Doctors. In yet another reference to Is This Thing On Podcast, I played a band called Eggshell Egoz in 2010. They have a great website full of colour and pretty things here.

Lastly was The Mighty Heartache and a song that I used to play when I was with them back in the last century, And I Lied. It’s a masterpiece of songwriting and the arrangement is stunning! If you love this band as much as me then https://www.tfmcmusic.com/ is where you simply must go for more.

Then we finish with a compilation of old Is This Thing On podcast jingles. Want to send me a jingle for Nick Tann’s Fresh Music Fix? Do it! You can just record something on your phone or whatever and follow the instructions here. Chris reckons three people will send us something. I don’t think anyone will.

Let’s see…