Benjamin Taylor – The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1 (Iris Records)

Benjamin Taylor probably thinks this review’s about him. It will be, of course but, first, the obligatory reference.

Unlike, say, Martha Wainwright, Taylor has yet to emerge as a voice distinct from those of his 1970s singer-songwriter parents – in his case Carly (You’re So Vain) Simon and James Taylor.

Now, where I hung out in the 1970s, Carly was the cooler of the two. In fact, as I recall, anyone turning up at school with a James Taylor LP under their arm was asking for a kicking. Even in the gentler 1990s, being the man’s son must have been purgatory. A bit of a shock, then, to discover that I like the younger Taylor the most when he’s sounding a bit like his dad. Whereas “his own unique hybrid style of blissed out beach-music” is, well, a bit too blissed out. Music not so much for the beach as for a very late night drive, when there’s too much going on in your head. The saving grace is the final piano-vocal duet After it’s Over, a witty and graceful instant classic. But folk with a kick, it ain’t. Anyway, must dash: date with some underworld spy, and the wife of a close friend.

Michael Cross