Audio By Carbonatix
It’s the attack of the Earnest Guitar-Strumming White People! On his debut with the band that bears his name, the aptly titled Famous Among the Barns, Ben Taylor sings, “I am the sun/That’s all I’ve ever been since I begun/All I’ll ever been until I’m done.” But, people, it’s called a double entendre: Taylor’s the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, so if you think all he’s referring to is the big-ass star we revolve around, you’ve been reading too much US Weekly. The young singer-songwriter, at Gypsy Tea Room on Saturday night, has a voice that sounds pretty much exactly like his dad’s and an earnest white-person groove that imagines a landlocked Jack Johnson. Famous (which features a rendition of “Time of the Season” that manages to replace the Zombies’ innate sense of dread with pottery-throwing serenity) won’t change Taylor’s lot in life, but it’ll make for a pleasant something to show the relatives at Christmas. I don’t know if Michelle Branch’s parents are famous; maybe her dad was Employee of the Month at the State Farm office in February. Similarly, I don’t know what Hotel Paper, Branch’s second album, due next month, sounds like, since I forgot to listen to it. But turn up to see her at Trees on Friday and marvel at her remarkable everydayness; The Spirit Room, her hit debut from 2001, convinced me that she’s the nice-white-girl version of Ashanti–skilled, anonymous, eager to be whatever you want her to be.
When news happens, Dallas Observer is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If the Dallas Observer matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
