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Do Things Out June 12 on Paw Tracks
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DENT MAY
Dent May has made a mixtape for Ad Hoc that he says,
"is inspired by driving around with friends, listening to classic R&B
and funk radio hella blazed on a sunny afternoon." He's included
some choice Mississippi cuts from James "Pane" Taylor, Fern Kinney,
and The Jackson Southernaires. "Shout-out to the classic Malaco Records,
whose facilities in Jackson, MS were completely destroyed in a tornado last
year, so check out their deep catalogue and support them," May
says.
In the years since signing with Paw Tracks in 2009,
Mississippi native Dent May has made music that balances saccharine pop
sincerity and campy affectation. His debut LP, The Good Feeling Music
of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, put wry storytelling at its
fore, but imbued each track with sweet strums of the titular instrument and
earnest harmonies sure to arrest listeners' sympathies. Eager to explore
different styles, the two singles released since the album, "That
Feeling" and "Fun," have seen May plugging in and finding
footing somewhere between 60s psychedelia and disco-era balladry in the vein
of Ashford and Simpson, a vibe he expands on with his new record, Do
Things.
Played entirely by himself and recorded in sessions split
between his bedroom at the Cats Purring Dude Ranch and a small cabin by a
cotton field outside Oxford, MS, Do Things finds the
self-described "wedding reception band on acid" purveying the same
heavy helpings of sentiment, but forgoing the jocular tone of his debut for a
more contemplative-but still relentlessly optimistic-demeanor. Underneath the
shiny veneer of synthesizer filigrees and harmonious coos, May zooms in on
such timeless subjects as the nature of friendship, finding purpose in a
world that seems devoid of it, and dealing with insistent feelings of
malaise. "Funk" is certainly a word that's written all over the
album, and May's Orange Juice-ian take on it lends songs like "Best
Friend" and "Don't Wait Too Long" a sprightly boogie and
conjures images of soft-lit rooms and mirror balls. When not thumping and
grooving, Do Things bops and sways along the psych-pop
avenues of "Tell Her" and the ascending melodies of "Find
It." Full of stylistic changes but retaining May's singular voice, Do
Things is a great step forward for the pop devotee.
Bio
Dent May writes and records homemade pop music in
Mississippi, where he was born in 1985. He began songwriting at age 12.
The following year, he started a band called Flood, who covered Creed and 311
and sold homemade cassettes to classmates. In high school, heavily influenced
by Elvis Costello and The Cars, Dent fronted a power-pop band called The
Rockwells. Feeling like an outsider in Mississippi, he retreated to the
Internet, where he spent his time soaking in pop music and culture from
around the globe.
After dropping out of NYU film school, Dent founded Oxford, Mississippi's self-proclaimed "infotainment cult" Cats Purring. Since then, his musical endeavors have included a debut LP of ukulele tunes on Paw Tracks, dance recordings under the Dent Sweat moniker, and a mysterious unfinished psych-country rock opera called Cowboy Maloney's Electric City. He throws notorious DIY shows at his home, a former Boys & Girls club now deemed the Cats Purring Dude Ranch. Recent singles on Forest Family and Paw Tracks have found Dent abandoning the ukulele in favor of cosmic synths, funky guitars, analog drum machines, loopy bass lines, and massive vocal harmonies. He played all the instruments on his new album Do Things, which was recorded at the Dude Ranch and in a friend's rural cabin by a cotton field. Do Things will be released by Paw Tracks on June 12, 2012.
DENT MAY
5-18 Brooklyn, NY - 285 Kent +
6-15 Dallas, TX - The Bryan Street Tavern 6-16 Austin, TX - Scottish Rite Theater $$ 6-17 San Antonio, TX - El Ten Eleven $$ 6-18 Lubbock, TX - Pray For Rain $$
6-20 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture $$
6-21 Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom $$
6-22 San Diego, CA - Casbah $$
6-23 Los Angeles, CA - The Smell $$ 6-24 Los Angeles, CA - TBA $$ 6-26 Isla Vista, CA - Biko Garage $$ 6-27 San Jose, CA - Blank Club $$ 6-28 Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place $$ 6-29 Oakland, CA - New Parish Music Hall $$ 6-30 San Francisco, CA - Elbo Room $$ 7-2 Arcata, CA - The Jambalaya $$ 7-3 Olympia, WA - Northern $$ 7-5 Vancouver, BC - Waldorf Hotel $$ 7-5 Vancouver, BC- Biltmore Cabaret $$ 7-6 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey $$
7-7 Portland, OR - East End Block Party$$
7-10 Fargo, ND - Aquarium
7-22 Washington DC - DC9
7-24 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
+ w/ Family Portrait
$$ w/ Quintron and Miss Pussycat
Dent May Mixtape
Escape From Groove Mountain
Dr. Togo - Be Free
Lenon Honor, Jr. - Dancin' Mood
Vaughan Mason & Butch Dayo - Feel My Love
James "Pane" Taylor - This Girl Orange Juice - Flesh Of My Flesh Fern Kinney - Together We Are Beautiful Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I'm A Wonderful Thing Baby Atlantic Starr - When Love Calls Sylvia Striplin - You Can't Turn Me Away Collage - Special Occasion The Jackson Southernaires - Don't Look Down On A Man Betty Wright - Tonight Is The Night 
Dent May
Do Things
(Paw Tracks)
Street Date: June 12, 2012
Formats: CD / LP / Digital
1. Rent Money
2. Fun
3. Tell Her
4. Best Friend
5. Don't Wait Too Long
6. Wedding Day
7. Parents
8. Find It
9. Do Things
10. Home Groan
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