Dent May – ‘What’s For Breakfast?’ album review: A healthy serving of soulful summer indie
THE SKINNY: Cloud-like. A lot of the time, describing music with an image isn’t very helpful, given the connotations of that image can mean different things to different people. However, when describing Dent May’s newest album, What’s For Breakfast?, the best term that can be applied to it is cloud-like.
Clouds are beautiful, as is this album. Not only are they beautiful, but they are as much in a way that is undeniable. Regardless of what kind of art we are into, we remain united in our ability to lie on the ground and get lost looking at clouds. The same applies to this project. It doesn’t matter what sort of music you are into. The way that What’s For Breakfast? is put together, with its sweet-sounding instrumentation and top-quality lyrics, nobody will rush to turn it off. From metal heads to jazz enthusiasts, the music is lovely.
Equally, though, there isn’t much to a cloud other than what can be seen. If you step inside one to look around, you won’t find much, and you also see them everywhere. While Dent May’s new album is easy to get on board with and lovely to listen to, it becomes somewhat repetitive and lacks substance. The project seems to lean into the ease with which a listener can get on board, accidentally blending into the background rather than standing out in the process.
In effect, this album is a joy throughout; there are no bad songs, and the way that it has been executed is joyous. Equally, it doesn’t do enough to be considered anything more than just good music, a paradoxical critique that will be made more apparent in six months when it remains good music, steadily getting slightly forgotten about. If you were to suggest otherwise, then it may be that you have your head in the clouds.
For fans of: Tomato soup, funny socks and maps where you scratch off where you’ve been.
A concluding comment from two people at a party where this album is on: “What album is this?”, “Dent May – What’s For Breakfast?”, “Oh, it’s good”.
What’s For Breakfast? Track by track
Release date: March 29th | Producer: Dent May | Label: Carpark Records
‘You Already Know’: The song is a light-sounding tune, incredibly upbeat and joyous in its delivery. The lyrics encourage the listener to live their life to the fullest, and the instrumentation provides a decent backing track that inspires us to make the most out of life. The high notes are pitchy, but all in all, this is a lovely opener. [3.5/5]
‘Keep Me In Mind’: A persistent and uplifting beat plays throughout this song, sung an octave higher than ‘You Already Know’, that May delivers well. There are a bundle of fun sounds in the background that keep the listener engaged as radio waves are tuned to add to what is an infectious melody. [3/5]
‘One Call, That’s All’: Only three songs in, but a pattern is already developing. The vocal melody and instrumentation of each track don’t differ much from each other, and while they are fun to listen to, a worry is established early on whether this tone can be kept up for an entire LP without becoming stale. That being said, ‘One Call, That’s All’, like its predecessors, is nice to listen to. [3/5]
‘The Simple Life’: This song starts slightly slower, with just a guitar providing the instrumentation as May delivers the same sweet-sounding vocals. The piece differentiates from the three that came before it, invoking sensations of summer, beaches and surfing. The guitar solo on the track can’t be slept on either, as a Thin Lizzy-style harmony breaks up ‘The Simple Life’ nicely. [4/5]
‘Coasting On Fumes (feat. Jordana)’: Hearing Jordana on this song is great. Though, sonically, it falls into a similar pattern to that is already established on the LP, the variation on the vocals keeps things fresh. The two also have a nice back-and-forth towards the end of the track. [3/5]
‘Kiss Me In The Rain’: A really pretty love song, ironically pining for the honeymoon phase over instrumentation that could be used for a first dance. The piece has funk elements, with a time signature that’s easy to sway to and a flute running through it; this is one to get your head nodding. [4.5/5]
‘Heaven On Wheels’: A little bit of a non-starter. While the song undeniably sounds good with the sweet instrumentation and quality vocals, it comes across more like a placeholder as opposed to being anything of substance. It may be different if it had come earlier in the album, but now a track like this rolls under the radar. [2.5/5]
‘Time Flies When You’re Having Fun (feat. Pearl & The Oysters)’: The music on this song sounds like an interesting blend of a summer and a Christmas track. The chorus is undeniably catchy, but again, this feels like a bit of a nothing event at this point. [2.5/5]
‘Cactus Flower’: A slightly more subdued number, dreamlike in how it’s put together, intergalactic in its overall delivery. This very psychedelic-sounding song sounds like it would make the perfect accompaniment to a good dream. [3.5/5]
‘Don’t Stop Doing What You’re Doing’: A soulful number with sounds akin to lasers in the background, ‘Don’t Stop Doing What You’re Doing’ invokes a sense of 1980s funk. There is still the undeniable feel of summer indie throughout every second, but with a funky fusion that brings a nice twist to the album. [3/5]
‘Singing For My Supper’: This song is a beautiful take on the difficulties of being a musician for a living. While the sentiment is sweet and the track punchy, it is quite boring to listen to. In another album, it might be a standout, but nothing separates it from that which has come before, so rather than sounding like a steadier acoustic piece to break things up, it just sounds like a normal song from the album where they forgot to add drums. [2/5]
‘Let’s Take It From The Top (feat. Jimmy Whispers)’: It’s nice that May used a funky song to close out the album as they are the stronger parts of the whole LP. This chorus is probably the best on the record, and the sound of Bee Gee’s like harmonies glisten wonderfully. It’s a nice closer to what has been a decent album. [3.5/5]
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