Mississippi:

Dent May

CITY: Mississippi
SONG TO DOWNLOAD:

CITY: Taylor
SONGS THAT GOT US: “Howard,” “Meet Me in the Garden”
ON THE TUBES: MySpace, Web site, YouTube 
RECORD LABEL: Paw Tracks

WHY HIM? While it would be accurate to describe NYU film-school dropout Dent May as an oddball showman in the vein of Tiny Tim who does indeed play ukulele, it wouldn’t begin to do justice to his enormously appealing talents. Marry-ing minimalist roots-rock micromanaged knob-twiddling, May is more like a trailblazing Frankenstein amalgam of Buddy Holly and Brian Wilson, given life by a winking Wes Anderson. To triangulate his delightful strangeness, toss in some hiccupping Brazilian instrumentation, a Prince cover of “When You Were Mine,” and an unhealthy obsession with the Partridge Family.

BONUS BIT! Animal Collective discovered May in Oxford, Mississippi (where they tracked Merriweather Post Pavilion), and quickly signed him to their Paw Tracks label.

_PHOENIX STAFF

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