Free Music Friday: The Modelling, Californian, Fishy, Pornographic, Blunt, Minimal, Snogging, Stringy, Hot, Bomby Edition

OK, i've got a HUGE backlog of stuff, so guess who wins? Anyone checking out Free Music Friday, natch.

First up, we've got Cilla K. , an up and comer born in the French West Indies who currently resides in NYC. When not bringing her stamp to the neo-R&B sound, she models, meaning the woman clearly has a rough life. Chanteuse AND model? How does one find the time? Fortunately, her debut, Fine Line, is a fine piece of soul/jazz/funk, so that's all we'll focus on for now.

mp3: Demain (Cilla K. from Fine Line)

LET fave Jason Lytle finally has dropped the first official track from his Admiral Radley project, I Heart California, from the debut album of the same name. While it's impossible not to hear traces of Grandaddy in the mix, the new band (which also includes members of both Grandaddy and Earlimart), this one has a looser, more "fun" vibe at play, at least in this first single. As is the growingly common move, the debut CD is being offered in an extra special format on July 1 for $100. Now i have to decide whether or not i need another "exclusive" tee shirt and accompanying pictures.

mp3: I Heart California (Admiral Radley from I Heart California)

For today's male/female drums/guitar duo, i submit Little Fish out of the U.K. (we get submissions from the world over, but i won't consider us a true success until we get something from Estonia; i'm just saying). Fortunately, this is not a simple White Stripes rip-off (thank Black Dynamite). If anything, i catch shades of the Pack A.D. Regardless, they put on a blistering performance on their new single, Darling Dear. If you like your rock with an ample side of piss and vinegar, Little Fish might well be just the band for you.

mp3: Darling Dear (Little Fish from Baffled and Beat)

Sure, when you think of that chick from the New Pornographers, you probably automatically go to Neko Case. And while that's a fine place for your mind to go, Kathryn Calder would like to remind you that she's in the band, too. Not only that, but now she's making music of her own. Scheduled to hit shelves August 10, keep an eye and an ear out for Are You My Mother? First single "Slip Away" is a fine bit of songcrafting with plenty of "oh oh oh ohs" that ambles along like a butterfly on a breezy afternoon. Watch out for this one.

mp3: Slip Away (Kathryn Calder from Are You My Mother?)

Sometimes, it's the no bullshit approach that works best. Dalton M recently dropped me a line saying, "I am trying to get heard/mentioned in a blog or two, and wondered if you could help?" Since his brand of dreamy, synth soaked pop works fine by me, yes, Dalton M, i can help.

mp3: A Live Instrument (Dalton M from Flashlights)

Kyle Bobby Dunn makes expansive, minimalist instrumental pieces. His latest, A Young Person's Guide to Kyle Bobby Dunn, paints broad soundscapes using the slightest of palettes. Think good soundtrack music for something involving a bleak, winterland murder mystery. At least, i did, but i also take a lot of drugs.

mp3: Small Show of Hands (Kyle Bobby Dunn from A Young Person's Guide to Kyle Bobby Dunn)

Sweden's Pallers have a new blisswave track, The Kiss. An ever building affair that starts with simple percussion before growing to include sweeping strings and airy vocals, consider this today's GvB track. And it's a good one.

mp3: The Kiss (Pallers from The Kiss Single)

Matt Stevens plays instrumental acoustic guitar. And he plays it well. Similar to Kyle Bobby Dunn insomuch as this one sounds like it would make for great soundtrack music, too. Instead of the starkness presented by KBD, however, Stevens has a much more upbeat, at times almost rollicking, sound (though he does a good job of covering the full emotional spectrum here).

mp3: Big Sky (Matt Stevens from Ghost)

Coming off of a seven year hiatus, Sheila Nicholls is back with Songs from the Bardo, a singer/songerwriter work. During her self-imposed time off, she built a studio, taught herself ProTools, and started her own label. The results speak for themselves.

mp3: Bardo (Sheila Nicholls from Songs from the Bardo)

And to close things out, sloppy noise rockers Night Beats are here to offer H-Bomb. Think a grungier, more rock/less artsy version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and you won't be too far off.

mp3: H-Bomb (Night Beats from H-Bomb EP)

And on that note, my office is closed for summer hours, bitches, so i am out of here.