BING JI LING
June Degrees in December
(To the Curb Productions)
Anybody who wishes to travel back to the time when soft-rock and sleek, subtle funk ruled the radio could do worse than to stumble into this multi-instrumentalist’s loving arms. Ling’s emulations of all things Silk Degrees-era Boz Scaggs, Hall & Oates and even Toto (oh my!) are uncannily accurate and surprisingly pleasant.
Pay close attention to the multi-layered guitars in “Home” -- if that’s all him, Ling’s got a secret skill that’s likely overshadowed by his voice and songwriting. And just for fun, imagine sinking into that cushy bass in “This Song is For You.”
June Degrees aims for the bedroom, but these five tunes slink rather than thrust. The soft-touch percussion, keyboards as warm as a snifter of brandy, melodic low-end and Ling’s smiling, earnest croon all add up to an authentic make-out record. At just 18 minutes though, you’ll have to work fast.
Reference materials: Think that Justin Timberlake has it too easy? Does the ironic/un-ironic enthusiasm for this ridiculous notion of yacht rock irritate you for reasons you can’t adequately explain? Bing Ji Ling can help.
Unwarranted salacious commentary: Remember when it was okay for singers to look like Rupert Holmes? The Typing Monkey takes hope that the charmingly fugly Bing Ji Ling probably gets more tang than an astronaut.
