Dent May’s uplifting, soaring vocal performances are bundles of joy and the standout tracks glisten brightly

As the fifth album from Dent May, Late Checkout transports us to a Californian Hotel on the outskirts of L.A. It’s a tale of the aftermath of days spent at the beaches, vegan cafes, and hipster bars of the City of Angels, communicating with only the most vacuous in society. We retreat alone to our hotel room, after a busy week of fakery and beautiful half-light, to reflect; we plan for a better future and think about what we love.

James Dent May Jr. has always had a knack for dressing his out-of-place style in overly joyous sounds. He’s an indie rocker-synthpopper dunked in a little pot of the psychedelic and he mastered his sugary craft in 2017’s Across the Multiverse. Late Checkout is a definite continuation of this formula with the only obvious difference being the confidence which May brings to the project. However, while subtle differences bring weaknesses, there is an undoubtable warmth and smoothness throughout and, as it lacks some of the quirks of its writer and pacing issues, mean it’s easy as a listener to flow in and out.

Opener ‘Hotel Stationery’ is a love letter to Dent’s muse, writing a note to say “you’re extraordinary” despite the distance. The gentle rhythm and glistening keys are joyful, later joined by some elegant strings and clement brass. The headline of the track is May’s silky vocal and melodic “oohs” which entrance us into a crooning sway, like the audible form of missing the person to whom you are utterly devoted. May’s voice takes centre stage again in similarly brilliant love song of polar opposite energy ‘Sea Salt & Caramel.’ A hopping piano and mounting falsetto wrap a song of beautiful pop simplicity in cotton candy and sit us down on a ferris wheel as the sun sets. ‘Easier Said Than Done’ finds us disembarking the ferris wheel and walking down the beach, May’s sparkling vocals and synths leading us by our hand as we start skipping through the closing minute.

‘I Could Use a Miracle’ is a highlight of the more danceable side of Late Checkout: a foot tapper and head nodder with lush riffs and smooth keys. May is accepting of his feelings, admitting he has only been hanging on. He needs a miracle for “something good to happen soon”. It's a perfect example of May’s otherness and how he uses his bad experiences to drive reconstruction. And it perfectly demonstrates his ability to elucidate this thrugh uplifting four minute nuggets of non-ironic bounty. ‘Didn’t Get the Invite’ opens with slick strings. Dent now sings of his experiences of exclusion as though convincing himself he doesn’t care — that he would’ve stayed in anyway. Unfortunately, the song is a little repetitive and disjointed and we’re left unsure if we believe him.

There are a few missteps in the record’s track order, meaning there are some attention deficits during a play through. ‘Bungalow Heaven’ has some whimsy and wit, but slows the album’s pace to an overly chilled lull all too soon after the uplifting jaunt of ‘Sea Salt & Caramel.’ This means we also lose a bit of energy for the slow motion shaker of ‘Bless Your Heart’ which, despite another solid vocal performance from May, closes with a more than exhaustive refrain. The pace changes aren’t always misplaced. The Spanish jazz rock of ‘L.A. River’ follows the beach skipper of ‘Easier Said Than Done’ yet finds us swooning, lounging on a sun bed with perhaps one too many cocktails in hand. Conversely, slower ballad ‘Full Speed Ahead’ finds May done with “looking back” and tilts towards an optimistic future but slows the pace to near-dreary, leaving the listeners genuinely wanting the album to charge full speed ahead. ‘Imagination’ and ‘Pour Another Round’ drag towards the albums close, with title track ‘Late Checkout’ finding May longing to stay longer, not “ready to say goodbye”. And despite another flying vocal performance, we are probably ready for that goodbye by this stage.

Dent May’s uplifting, soaring vocal performances are bundles of joy and the standout tracks glisten brightly. But Late Checkout struggles from pacing issues with a slightly messy track list and a weaker closing portion to the album. Dent May sings of love, of moving forward, and evokes both a life on the beach while the sun is setting and lonely thoughts alone in hotel rooms after it has set. May’s sweetness and abnormalities are sometimes relatable, sometimes rhythmic, but other times flat and unremarkable. Dent states in the title track, he wasn’t ready to say goodbye; as listeners, we might heed that as warning, get the standouts under our belt, and benefit from an early checkout.