Never Wanted You –  Taylor Mac (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Anything which is being touted by its own promotional powers that be as “recommended if you like Bat For Lashes” is always going to get fast tracked from the “maybe if I find the time” stack to the “I’m right on it” review pile without delay. Natasha Khan has been responsible for some of the most sumptuous dream-state pop of the current age and anyone embued with a fraction of her creative juices is always going to be worth a spin. Sadly, in the case of this debut single such an enticement is somewhat missplaced. Yes, Taylor Mac is capable of some wonderfully textured vocal arrangements but that is where the similarity ends.

That said, once you accept that this isn’t a return journey to the majesty of Two Suns but instead a fairly smart alt-pop song in its own right, you can begin to enjoy it. And there is a lot to enjoy, clean and picked guitars, some wonderful musical motiffs threaded through and a more than competant vocal that wanders between cool understatement and sweet indie-pop deliveries. If you came looking for mercurial, mystical pop a la Ms. Khan, this isn’t the obvious place to look but if you are after a fairly commercial go at contemporary pop that swerves cliche and makes so decent sonic choices, then you are exactly where you need to be. Hang on, maybe their ploy worked after all….