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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.
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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.
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.