DENT MAY Announces New Album & Shares Lead Single

DENT MAY ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM & SHARES FIRST SONG/VIDEO  Late Checkout out August 21st via Carpark Records

(Credit: Cara Robbins)

Previous praise for Dent May:  “He’s a crooner, with a mellifluous, retro vocal style that sometimes reaches to falsettos” - New York Times  “Infectiously enjoyable” - NPR  "Like a crooner in outer space, Dent May makes glum sounds that sound happy, with old-fashioned panache...He prizes breezy, irrepressible melodies, songs in a quaint and cheerful key." - Pitchfork "You need not know the Highland Park-based singer’s bio before popping on his new song [90210]...The song’s chorus is wonderfully evocative, despite its brevity...he sings, and you can almost see the shimmering blue water." - Los Angeles Times  "Dent May has always trafficked in big, bright retro pop songs with a disco undercurrent, but they typically have been tweaked with faint psychedelic elements.” - Stereogum  "’Face Down in the Gutter of Your Love’ is everything we love about vintage Dent, blending his smooth AOR-disco stylings and romantic yacht rock sentimentality with a darker, yearning side of his signature light-hearted wit, making for a wistful, heartfelt love song.” - Gorilla vs. Bear  " [On Across The Multiverse] Dent May translates his first impressions of the sometimes superficial and always tragically beautiful Los Angeles into Brian Wilson-like pop ballads, updated for 2017." - Bandcamp

Mississippi-born and Los Angeles-based artist Dent May announces his new album, Late Checkout, today. His fifth record and first new material in 3 years, Late Checkout will be released on August 21st via Carpark Records. Known for shepherding a kind of classic American songwriting into the age of bedroom recording, May steps out of his home studio for the first time on Late Checkout, and steps into his very own Honeymoon Suite Recording Studio. The Los Angeles studio, co-owned and built with May’s friends Pat Jones and Michael Rosen, is where May crafted the dozen timeless melodies, expansive arrangements and illustrative lyrics on this stunning new record. This album shows May grappling with swinging emotions of our contemporary reality with a rare optimism and distinguished sound. The un-nostalgic sentiment and sobering clarity of May’s latest body of work takes a reflective rest-stop on the winding road of his now decade-long career. Pre-order the album now HERE. To celebrate the album announcement, Dent May shares Late Checkout’s lead single, “I Could Use A Miracle.” Against a lush and upbeat pop instrumental, “I Could Use A Miracle” finds May singing about the desperation of feeling down-and-out. “This song is about going through trying times, living in a world gone mad yet holding on to hope that things will get better,” says May. “I hope it gives listeners some comfort.” Watch the Nathan Castiel-directed video and listen to the song, co-written with Jimmy Whispers, HERE.  Carpark Records will be hosting a showcase with Australian Livestream Festival, Isol Aid on June 26th (US) / June 27th (AUS). Dent May will be performing alongside other Carpark acts at 8:20pm PST, June 26th / 1:20pm AEST, June 27th - see HERE for more details.

Dent May is soaking it in and taking his time on his new LP Late Checkout. Contrary to the instant gratification permitted by modern home-recording, May made a conscious decision to slow down and pay careful attention to his songwriting on this album. He began to savor the minutiae of his daily life spent wandering around LA, not getting invited to hang with friends, and waking up in hotel rooms after DJing weddings. May drew on these moments in his lyrics and began assembling ballads at his new studio, mimicking the bittersweet tone and consistent work ethic of Motown. Bearing the torch of classic American songwriters that have inspired him like Harry Nilsson, Carole King, and Randy Newman, Dent May has gingerly cultivated his iPhone note scribbles and subconscious melodies into songs that could stand the test of time. Leaving the comfort of home-recording for the first time, May set out to elevate the production quality on Late Checkout while maintaining some intimacy through sparse arrangements. After writing and performing parts for a bulk of the instruments on the album, May filled out his orchestrations by inviting string players, a horn section, background vocalists, and a pair of auxiliary drummers to play on the album.  From beginning to end, May bares his soul on each track across Late Checkout, offering a reluctant goodbye to his former selves, before wandering home.