Musicians and bands continue to reach out to me with their music at an unrelenting pace, which means it’s time for another Fresh New Tracks installment. Today, I’m featuring four songs by artists who are all new to me (in alphabetical order) – Australian singer-songwriter Karen Harding, English folk artist Mock Deer, English rock duo Popclaw, and Welsh electro pop-rock duo The Vanities.

KAREN HARDING – “6 Feet Off The Floor”

Karen Harding is a singer-songwriter based in Melbourne, Australia who’s released an impressive number of excellent singles since 2021, beginning with her lovely piano ballad “I Didn’t Realise”. Her vibrant, emotive vocal styling has been favorably compared to artists like Sarah McLachlan, Eva Cassidy and Ella Henderson, and her songs have earned her numerous accolades, including the 2021 Bendigo Bank-sponsored Radio Eastern Songwriter Talent Show, being nominated as a Top Ten Winner at the World Songwriting Awards in September 2021 and Best International Artist at Crags Radio Independent Artist Awards in February 2022. She considers her music, which she records and produces by herself, “a tool for therapy and personal growth”.

Today, Karen drops her new single “6 Feet Off The Floor“, her 18th overall thus far, and the third from her forthcoming album Behind the Mask, due out later this year. About the track, Karen says it’s “a pop song of positivity and optimism, about moving forward and past our worries, and rising up just a little so we can look down on those things we spend so much time dwelling on in our thinking.” It’s a pleasing, contemplative song with sublime piano keys and delicate synths layered over a gentle percussive beat. Karen’s clear vocals are comforting as she sings “When I was six feet off the floor, all of those problems seemed so small. And in the grand scheme of it all, I found a higher place to explore.”

Karen’s Socials:  Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram

MOCK DEER – “Harbinger”

Mock Deer is the music project of singer-songwriter and musician Ricky Damiani, who’s spent much of his life in North Wales and Manchester, but is now based in London, where he’s become heavily involved in that city’s independent music scene. He’s toured extensively throughout Europe and shared the stage with such artists as Brent Cobb, Sam Brookes, Simon Joyner, The Burning Hell, Nadine Khouri and Curtis Eller. His sound can generally be described as folk/singer-songwriter with elements of alternative rock, and he’s released a fair amount of music over the past 12 years, including his debut album The Art of Loneliness in 2020, several EPs and numerous singles. He’s also composed original music for TV and theatre.

His powerful and haunting latest single “Harbinger“, released on April 4th and the lead track from his forthcoming EP Pilgrims, was a forgotten demo he’d written several years ago that he rediscovered while doing what he referred to as “some digital spring cleaning” during the pandemic lockdown. Re-hearing the song with a fresh and very different perspective than when he’d originally written and recorded it, Ricky liked the rawness of his vocals and decided to keep the original take for the final recording, which also includes Mat Martin on lead guitar, Jayden Pegler on bass, Will Inscoe on keyboards, Aaron Carpenter on drums, Matthew Herd on saxophone, and Lola Hepper on backing vocals. The track was produced by Scott Fitzgerald, who also produced his album, and mastered by John Nicholls. The poignant lyrics touch on his personal struggles, and learning to let go of painful experiences and appreciate the good things in his life: “And what’s to do. What do I have, I have you, I have love. Have so much I’m grateful of…” The striking photo for the single cover art, taken by Andrew Gale, is of female bodybuilder Stubbs Performance.

Mock Deer’s Socials:  Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram

POPCLAW – “Liar”

Popclaw is a rock duo from Southeast England comprised of singer-songwriters and musicians Dan Lawley and Chris Bird. Formed in 2022 through a shared love of Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Ramones, the guys live two hours apart but have never met each other in person, consequently have only worked remotely thus far. Since December 2022, they’ve released seven singles (plus two remixes), their latest of which is “Liar“, which dropped March 17th.

Chris wrote the opening riff in 2011 while at Uni, but sat on it for nearly a decade until resurrecting the track during the pandemic lockdown in 2020, at which time his friend Simon Hunt, of the English rock band Elmo Blatch, wrote lyrics to go with it. Popclaw says “Liar” is a punk inspired song that’s “mainly about people that lie very frequently and badly, [and] could be about an ex partner, friend, someone you work with or even a politician.” The song is a rousing garage rock banger, with roiling, fuzz-coated grungy riffs layered over a thumping bassline fortified with smashing drumbeats. The aggressive vibe nicely complements the biting lyrics calling out duplicitous liars who drive us crazy. The cover artwork for the single shows a man’s pants on fire.

Popclaw’s socials: Instagram / Threads

THE VANITIES – “Just Passing Thru” feat. Bob Fitzgerald

The Vanities are an electro-rock duo from Cardiff, Wales comprised of Rhys Bradley (vocals/guitar) and Adam Hill (bass guitar/synths). With a combined love of 80s synth-pop and 90s grunge, they formed in 2001 and released their debut EP Space Tourist a year later. They followed with a few more EPs and singles throughout the 2000s, then nearly ten years would pass until the release of their debut album 2001 in late 2021. In 2023, they released “Private Army”, a hauntingly beautiful song inspired by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that marked a notable departure from their signature 80s sound. Now they return with a new single “Just Passing Thru“, a country and gospel-tinged song that’s another significant departure from their previous sound.

The song is a heartwarming sermon on love, loss and the importance of living life to the fullest, written by Rhys and produced by Al Steele. Rhys has a beautiful singing voice, but for this single he decided to have award-winning country music artist Bob Fitzgerald sing the moving lead vocal, along with stirring backing vocals by The Epoch House Gospel Choir. The musicians playing on the track include Reggie Duncan on the gorgeous pedal steel guitar, Adam Hill and bass, Gareth Jones on piano, Jon Martin Skauge on acoustic guitar, and Chris Barber on drums. The release includes an AA side remix by South Wales producer Jammy of an alternate version of the song sung by Rhys. Those two, as well as the version sung by Rhys, are included in the release available on Bandcamp. The video, featuring vintage early 1960s footage of happy family memories and driving trips, courtesy of Retro Vision Archives, brings the song’s poignant lyrics to life.

Here’s the song with the two alternate versions on Bandcamp:

The Vanities’ Socials:  Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram