Mississippi singer-songwriter Dent May releases his third full-length Warm Blanket on August 27 via Paw Tracks. His psychedelic funk features “organic textures, analog synth squiggles, inventive vocal melodies, and sincere wordplay.” Recorded in solitude in a reportedly haunted Victorian house by the bay in St. Augustine, Florida, the album arrives just barely a year after the release of his previous LP Do Things. The crooner discovered by Animal Collective really pushed the artistic envelope on this one; he played almost all the instruments on the album (listen for the antique grand piano on numerous tracks) and recruited Florida locals to fill in on horns, strings and pedal steel guitar. Warm Blanket opens with the one-minute “Turn Up The Speakers,” on which Dent serenades, “Dim down the lights real low / Turn up the speakers doll / I’ve got something on my mind.” The tone of the opening track suggests that the album will be introspective as well as warm and cuddly. Listening to Warm Blanket, it’s evident that Dent’s lounge-friendly voice is still his best weapon. Thanks to his strong grasp of melody, the songs’ catchy, well-laced harmonies help to accentuate and elevate his set of pipes. With its airy acoustic guitars, analog synth squiggles, soaring arrangements and vocal melodies, Warm Blanket is a bold step for Dent, but it doesn’t quite have the pop sheen of Do Things