Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele, "Oh Paris"
Dent May comes from Taylor, Mississippi, but clearly has more epicurean interests
in mind: wine, French girls, art—maybe. His vocal style is similar to
that of Jens Lekman, delivering witty one-liners in an enviable
baritone that probably better suits professional singers with
aspirations for the stage or opera instead of pop stardom. "Oh Paris"
is not as impressive as some of the other songs that should appear on
his 2009 debut, but it's a likable introduction even if the dude looks
like a total square. Plus, he'll be joining A.C. Newman (who's great,
but also kind of a square) on tour starting in February.
Harlem, "South of France"
It's a pain in the ass to talk about a band that's named itself Harlem but at least they aren't located in Brooklyn. That would be AWKWARD. They're actually from Austin, Texas, where they've received a steady amount of buzz from local online indie affiliate Gorilla Vs. Bear and the SXSW Festival. The group plays a style of rough and tumble garage rock that sounds fucking exactly like The Black Lips. Go ahead and make any argument you like but the reason this next song is any good is simply because it sounds like the Lips. Not to say that that's not a good thing.