Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

Most of what you need to know is essentially laid out in the artist’s upbeat album title: The Good Feeling of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele. What makes this ukulele and the man who does its strumming so magnificent is the revival of, and evolved spin on, the polished campy style of May’s loungey ukulele predecessors. May presents his debut album on Paw Tracks, home to the explosively popular Animal Collective, who discovered and introduced him to the label. Powered by the gentle rhythm of ukulele, additional strings and falsetto harmonies complimenting May’s smooth lead vocals (with impressive range), the ear is tricked into thinking that the radio’s been tuned into a station from the ’50s. It’s a catchy album. Every song has a toe-tapping pull. “Oh Paris!” is built upon a staccato, happy ukulele accompanied by maracas and hand claps and May’s dreamy crooning: “Oh Paris, I like to see you in the rain / Pretty girls in black berets reading books in sad cafés / I finally know that I belong here in this world.” If you don’t fight it, you can’t help but sway a bit. Don’t fight it.