REVIEW: May McDonough - Spilt Milk

May McDonough - Spilt Milk
MMM1/2

In Spilt Milk, May McDonough has the type of voice and batch of songs that make heartbreak and pain sound like pleasurable things. McDonough sings with a seductive, hot heat hypnotism that's hard to ignore. She carries a certain emotional weight in her voice in much the same way blues singers do. Like a cross between Fiona Apple and Tom Waits, Spilt Milk is an album meant for hot summer nights and lazy Sunday afternoon relaxation, on a porch covered equally by sunlight and shadow. It's an album that can celebrate and mourn, all at once.

The songs here are all about slow-paced rhythms that provide the perfect backdrop for McDonough's voice. The album carries an unmistakable classic spirit that's reminiscent of old jazz singers from the '30s and '40s, which provides her with the opportunity to exercise and display her warm, soothing croon. On songs like the entrancing "Riverside" and the jazzy, 12/8-driven "Mama Drained the Bathtub," brass cries out in the night and shines bright recalling New Orleans jazz. These songs are indicative of the album's blues, jazz, ragtime, and soul roots. For good measure, McDonough also proves she's not a one-trick pony as she displays a knack for the psychedelic garage rock of the '60s on "Gone With the Snake".

McDonough maintains a nuanced sound that's intriguing for its raw honesty, favoring emotive delivery over excited rhythms. She never aims to get your foot tapping as much as get inside your head and never leave. Her songs are the embodiment of that smitten feeling one receives after meeting that one special girl or boy; the kind of scenario where no matter what you do, you can't get that person out of your head. And with songs like "Your Body" and "Red Tag Nation," McDonough's casual zest and sultry tone are bound to make you smitten with Spilt Milk's seductive charms. It's not about hooks, it's about mood; and that's something that's hard to come by these days.

BUY: Pick up Spilt Milk at Amazon, CD Baby, or iTunes.

May McDonough @ MySpace