Uke-wielding descendant of Jonathan Richman delivers
"Welcome to my
record," Dent May croons in a deep, syrupy drawl at the beginning his
Magnificent Ukulele's debut full-length (the prolific Mississippian has
already had several genre-spanning projects). Much like the moniker and
basic modus operandi (he plays ukulele on all but one track here,
augmented by a band), the introduction at first feels a little
gimmicky.
But further inspection reveals a charming ("Oh, Paris!") and
often hilarious ("God Loves You, Michael Chang") songwriter who waxes delightful throughout these dozen
tracks. What The Good Feeling lacks in variation it makes up for with
clever turns of phrase and simple, contagious melodies—those, and one
exaggerated wink in the direction of fellow purveyors of wit and
whimsy, Jens Lekman and Jonathan Richman. No wonder Animal Collective
signed this dude to Paw Tracks after seeing him live once. May and his
Magnificent Ukulele quickly make for endearing company.