French Bath, by May Rio

French Bath

by May Rio

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$9 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
May Rio's first record put to vinyl. Full color printed exterior sleeve & full color printed inner sleeve. A secret scratched into every disc. Artwork by Logan White, Design by EJ O'Hara.

Includes unlimited streaming of French Bath via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

$23 USD or more

1.	Need You Like 02:02	lyrics	buy track
You went to bat for me I triple-played a loner Gift-wrap your heart, you’re sweet I’ll pickle it with the others Act like he’s so surprised When he knew very well She’s as sharp as a knife Careful, you could cut yourself I need your love just like I need a hole in my side Side Lashes are growing long I’m getting bored, and boreder You wanna bet on it? Bet it on your favorite number You’d leave your will to me I’ll leave you broke and pleading Coax with a silver tongue Chewed the sugar out of this gum I need your kisses like I give a shit when you’re crying Crying Crying Cry
2.	Monkey Do 02:01	lyrics	buy track
Quit riding past my place I’ll stop walking near yours Pick up the clothing piled up on my new bedroom floor I know my moves look bigger on some days But you broke my heart in little ways You ask me if I know how beautiful I am Well if I say yes does that mean I’m a bad, bad woman Don’t get my jokes don’t catch them when they’re made I’ve been dimmed out in little ways Monkey see Monkey do If you won’t let go I won’t too And I know your friends don’t like me coming back for more But your friends don’t hear your promises behind closed doors Well I hated you for loving me for shallow reasons ‘Cause when I loved you I really mean it
3.	NYC UMTs 02:41	lyrics	buy track
Maybe we’ve got nothing interesting to say But good hair day’s every day Blacked out memories, it’s okay The pictures remain All you have to do is go to every party You know all they want is proof That you’re dedicated too Dedicated to looking good, feel good And you look so good Crossing at the street People turning Like they want me Grab the Super C We got two kinds You want heads or body? No attachments Loyalty is more for dogs than friends You know Jagger? We’re obsessed with him You can barely taste the weed in this Have you ever heard you’ve Got the face of someone famous Deadstock Wrangler jeans With some cocaine in the pocket Follow-wallow me, yeah Let’s go out and let’s get spotted Work is only for ugly people with no money
4.	Cursed Fortuna 01:07	lyrics	buy track
Dino it’s good that you got it good But just remember Fortuna Crashes around us in violent waves She brings the shards with the smoothed out sea glass When the wheel lurches dipping you down Feel for the sand in your eyes What difference is it if you’re asleep? Can’t hold a memory more than a dream
5.	Dollars 01:38	lyrics	buy track
If I had dollar For every dollar I gave to Momma I’d have a dollar That time she needed Some change for parking I dug in my jeans Well I got this, cha-thing I don’t pay her phone bill but I’m a good daughter I give her calls every week Might look at me not See a good daughter But that’s not what Momma thinks My niece is fourteen She looks at my life Sees all the things I lack She learned from my example When she grows up She’ll be stacking stacks Is she right to aspire to affluence How can I say when I don’t got two cents Is she smart to queue into Race with rats I think Elsa is more like her grandad
6.	Getaway 02:09	lyrics	buy track
So you really think you’re gonna get away By getting on a plane With your tail tucked between your knees Even after all the xannies that you take You try your best to shake the thought that He was all you need No one can fill Up your emptiness No one’s gonna Go clean your big mess So you really think you’re gonna get away By getting on a plane Just fly to somewhere hot and easy But the weather only follows you around Like toilet paper found tacked to the bottoms of your feet I’m a genius Don’t touch me I’ll break Your bones into Little frosted flakes Ask myself what if I’d fought for it Then I remember that I did Remember that I did Remember that I did
7.	Mr. Horny Puke Man 03:00	lyrics	buy track
You know what I heard You puked on Seventh and First It’s hard, but you’re trying To woo girls with your guitar Your lechery, it will take you real far Real far Keep young, glistening gum Fly high, close to the sun Have your fun Easy fun And it’s fun oh easy fun La la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la Sloshed at Milk Bar As talented as you are What drives you is baseless And well, you can’t dispute that Just like you can’t unattack the barman But he can Ha he can Attack back Horny and in demand We believe in your chances Your chance It’s your chance It’s your chance oh It’s your chance It’s so fun to fuck someone You can Go all night You’re flying high Close to the sun Good easy fun Close to the sun Good easy fun
8.	Aspartame 03:15	lyrics	buy track
I never told you You’re just like aspartame Sweet in a sickly way Found out you’re bad for me late You’ve got a problem It’s not my job to tell you Sit back check out hit mute Twiddle my thumbs di di do All that you made me say At least it felt that way Egg me on and Take it on back and take it on back and Take it on back and take it on back and Always hold in what you’re thinking Loosen up, pills for the clinking Knock ‘em on back and knock ‘em on back and Shoot ‘em back and shoot ‘em on back it’s Written in stone Stone wears to sand Rotten love stinks Give it a French bath You’ve got a lil problem It’s not my job to fix it They wanna commentate But they never knew your shit Maybe the problem Was I just felt so lucky Just to have anything Oh what I’d do ba da di But n-no I wanted you You know I wanted you Wanted what you want too Tears come on and Choke ‘em on back and choke ‘em on back and Choke it on back and choke it on back and Wanted it then, thought I’d always Want it forever, in all ways Reel it on back and reel it on back and Reel it on back and reel it on back and Hold it in tight what you’re thinking Force my eyes open no blinking Knock ‘em on back and knock ‘em on back and Shoot ‘em back and shoot ‘em on back and Now I can fuck who I want to Right now that’s no one but fuck you Bring it on back and bring it on back and Bring it on back and bring it on back and The holes in your stories are king-sized Soak up your wet brain with dry rice Nurse it on back and nurse it on back and Nurse it on back and nurse it on back and Yeah go ahead think what you want to Want it your way Have it your way What did I say? What did I say?
9.	Self Service 02:58	lyrics	buy track
I took a look inside myself I remember it And it hurt like hell But if I had fallen on softer ground I wouldn’t have the scars To remind myself To forgive Those who don’t ask for it When the signs read wrong It’s okay to quit it It’s hard to know what’s true Get told what’s best for you And if you’re losing light Rest your tired eyes When I slip up I’ll trip up fuck up give it up ‘cause you know what it’s what happens Hope I’ll tell myself Cool it off let it breathe Break the fall with knowing All that’s been good to me Good to me So much has been good to me Hope I’ll tell myself Slow it down Things take time to live out You might get it wrong Welcome in the doubt You’re a gift to me My gift gives sweaty sheets And if you’re getting tired Rest your troubled eyes Troubled eyes Troubled eyes Troubled eyes
10.	I'm Not Crazy 02:57	lyrics	buy track
Swallowed questions go down wrong Feel sick not knowing are you moved on? “Fuck” spray-painted on a prom dress If that’s not bad art then what is? Keep the passion For teenagers and foreigners Can’t forget you Though would the forgetting be worse? I’m finished with self-preservation Serve my heart up on the table Made a dumb cliché of me If this is wrong I don’t want to be Right beside me Is where we both know you belong I’m not crazy I say to the bug on my wall I’m not above Begging, I will do anything Live on my knees Piss into bottles, never leave I’m not above Begging, I will do anything I’m not crazy Piss into bottles, never leave I’m not above Begging, I will do anything I’m not crazy Piss into bottles, never leave I’m not crazy I’m not crazy But I’ll never leave I’ll never leave I’ll never leave I’ll never leave

about

May practiced and now she is perfect. The project of the pop writer/performer born May Sembera has been steadily evolving since the uncertain days of 2020. Confined to her home studio in New York, she used Ableton to compose off-kilter pop songs about early ’20s hedonism and days spent toiling on tour with her former band, Poppies. These songs became her debut record, Easy Bammer.

Easy Bammer was released in June 2021, right as New York’s nightlife began to rouse from its pandemic slumber. Ready to meet the moment, May threw herself into a trial-by-fire gig grind, playing upwards of three shows a week for months on end. During this self-prescribed performance bootcamp, she befriended a group of like-minded emerging artists that she considers a creative cornerstone. “I really enjoy being a solo artist but sometimes it can be difficult to do something so vulnerable on my own,” she says. “Being surrounded by a group of supportive peers makes me feel like ‘Okay, I’m not by myself.’”

The feeling is mutual: over the past year May has brought her innate knack for melody to a variety of features including The Dare’s indie sleaze hit “Girls” and Blaketheman1000’s underground smash, “Blake 2.” Elsewhere, she’s popped up on tracks by local faves Shallowhalo, Tobias, and Tony Vaz. If there’s a keystone to New York’s downtown music sphere, it might very well be May.

This creative rebirth is immediately apparent on May’s new record, French Bath, which takes its title from a deceptively luxurious act of dousing oneself in cologne to disguise an unsavory stench. From the beautiful models with rotten hearts that stalk the streets on the syrupy daydream “NYC UMTs” to “Mr. Horny Puke Man”’s shallow indie rock lothario, May holds a mirror to the many different ways we attempt to fill our own voids. “No one can fill/Up your emptiness,” she sings on “Getaway.” But rather than passing judgment, May empathizes with these lost souls: she’s been there.

French Bath squiggles and squelches with an elasticity that reflects the songwriter’s wry sense of humor. “I need your love just like/I need a hole in my side,” she dryly warbles on the devilish lead single “Need You Like.” “Sweet in a sickly way” is how she portrays a fraught relationship on the aptly-titled “Aspartame,” but it’s also an accurate descriptor of these 10 playfully sticky songs. “I don’t have a built-in way that music should be in my head,” she says. “I follow my ear.” This instinctive approach to pop songwriting imbues French Bath with imaginative, unexpected textures. Unlike Easy Bammer, which was written quickly in relative isolation, French Bath was given time to breathe over a year-long recording process that reunited May with co-producer Tony 1 of the eclectic NY duo Tony or Tony. Friends including Simon Hanes of Tredici Bacci, Greg Rutkin of Customer, Syl DuBenion of Standing on the Corner, and country humorist Dougie Poole were invited to contribute live instrumentation, expanding the world of May Rio to reflect the vibrant community that sets her alight.

The result is French Bath, an album that seeks to push beyond constructs towards a more meaningful life. May leads by example on the inward-looking ballad “Self Service”: “I took a look inside myself/I remember it/And it hurt like hell.” But French Bath attests that the journey was worth it.

credits

released June 16, 2023

Written & Performed by May Rio
Produced by Tony or Tony and May Rio
Engineered by Jonathan Schenke, Sasha Stroud, & Eamon Ford
Mixed by Steve Vealey
Mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound
Photos by Logan White
Design by E.J. O’Hara

(c)&(p) May Rio under exclusive license to Dots Per Inch Music, LLC

May Rio - vocals, guitar, synthesizer (All Tracks)
Tony 1 - synthesizers, programmed drums (All Tracks)
Patrick Latham - synthesizers, piano (Tracks 1, 6, 9)
Adam Wolcott Smith - guitar (Tracks 6, 8)
Greg Rutkin - live drums (Tracks 1, 3, 8, 10)
Syl DuBenion - saxophone (Track 4)
Simon Hanes - bass guitar (Tracks 1, 6)
Dougie Poole - backing vocals (Track 7)

Recorded in various rooms around NYC between 2021 and 2022.

A big, great thanks to Mom, Dad, Tom, Pat, Adam, Greg, Roya, Allyson, Christian, Blake, and many (countless) more. Additional thanks to the Saks Fifth Avenue return policy, as well as Monday nights at Bex.

license

about

May Rio New York, New York

www.instagram.com/mayriosembera/

shows

Jul 22

Baby's All Right

New York (NYC), NY

contact / help

Contact May Rio

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like May Rio, you may also like:

Be The Cowboy
by Mitski

supported by 12 fans who also own “French Bath”

What a great album. It took me a while to really get the whole album but I can confidently say it's one of her best. The shorter songs are certainly a different feel, but I still like it. I could pick like five different songs as my favorite and all of them would feel right lol praisedrays
go to album
Aisles
by Angel Olsen

supported by 9 fans who also own “French Bath”

Covering 'Safety Dance' is galaxy brain stuff and I love this version of it so deeply. The whole album is a joy. bzedan
go to album
Punisher
by Phoebe Bridgers

supported by 9 fans who also own “French Bath”

savior complex makes my stomach feel full when i forgot to have breakfast polimoley
go to album
Still A Soft One
by NIIKA

A delicate and ethereal album, gracefully blending dreamy melodies with hushed guitar & introspective lyrics. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 3, 2023
go to album
Jules in Trouble / Zip Ribbons, SPLIT 7"
by Jules in Trouble / Zip Ribbons

featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 8, 2015
go to album
Hearth Room
by Frost Children

New York duo showcase an enigmatic blend of math rock guitars, pop-punk sing-a-longs, emo confessionals, and even rave-ready synths. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 15, 2023
go to album
Wet Leg
by Wet Leg

supported by 8 fans who also own “French Bath”

Every song is great, but the lyrics to this one put it at the top for me. ryanlesser
go to album