After three full-length albums and a couple intermittent EPs, singer/songwriter Ben Taylor [ tickets ] has finally hit his own musical stride, with each project taking him one step closer to his natural artistic identity.

"The Legend of Kung Folk, Part I (The Killing Bite)," a long-winded but appropriate title for the work, melds Taylor's inherent folk capabilities with a taste of funk that's perfectly fitting. The lanky, reflective musician describes the album's moniker as an introduction to "folk with a kick," a natural transition following 2005's "Another Run Around the Sun," a more bare bones, traditional take on the folk genre.

Though it's not essential to know that Taylor is the only son of music icons James Taylor and Carly Simon, the simple biographical fact does help explain the uncanny similarities in the men's voices, as well as the self-imposed pressure to forge his own way in the industry. Taylor proves successful with "The Legend ..." by slowly revealing a mini montage of moods, which ease from one emotional realm into another--a newfound aspect of his personal style.

"Wrong," the album's opening track, sets off the cycle--a calm, intelligent piece with its breezy rhythm and Taylor's soothing croon accented by ethereal backup vocals. Three songs in, the atmosphere shifts just slightly with one of the record's highlights. The previously serene air becomes melodically fun and lyrically flirty with "Wicked Way," an energetic wakeup call with sexy, suggestive words--"show me some skin/ I might bite it / I want to have my wicked way with you." And the shifts continue, yo-yoing back and forth from relaxed, occasionally bordering on monotonous, to palpably kinetic and easily enjoyable.

"After It's Over," perfectly placed as the album's finale, cleanses the aural palate with its jazz undertones. Featuring a guest appearance by English jazz-pop sensation Jamie Cullum, the slow, slightly sultry number wraps Taylor's signature voice in a memorable, piano-strewn melody that lingers, appropriately enough, long after it's over.