Now, with new EP 'long time caller', that approach has crystallised. A follow-up to 2023's 'things are gonna be alright', it's a record full of social spiral-outs, imagined boyfriends and brutally funny breakup fallout. Ben didn't even realise he was writing a breakup record at first, let alone one about multiple breakups, including with his past self.

It's also about transformation. "These songs are about breaking up with an old life and trying to move forward, while also documenting all the ways I've failed and addressing emotions we rarely talk about, jealousy, anger, all the ugly stuff that doesn't make us look great, but that we all feel."

Lyrically, Ben aimed to sharpen things, making the songs darker, funnier. "I was really trying to write funnier lines, not necessarily jokes, but lines that were funnier, more tragic and darker as well. I was really enjoying writing lyrics and getting better at it, so I wanted to focus on the lyrics this time."

He also focused on vocals for the first time. "The first album was all done live, but this time we recorded more track by track since we couldn't do it live. That allowed me to focus more on singing, softer, more intimate and bring people into the songs and the words."

The EP came together over about a year and a half, with some songs, like 'birkenstocks', written just after the debut was finished. Recorded with Folly Group's Louis Milburn and fleshed out by bandmates Charlie Meyrick, Fred Lawton and Molly Shields, the final result blends wry British lyricism with dusty Americana tones. There's also a bit of accidental gospel.

The recording wasn't without its challenging moments. "The song 'nts' was a bit tricky to record because there's a lot going on. Our producer, Louis Milburn, is such a pro that everything usually goes really smoothly."

Despite the heavy themes - romantic insecurity, social exile, late-night spirals - the songs remain funny. That tension is deliberate. "I think failure is really funny and it's something we all experience, which makes it relatable, like all the best comedy. I love writing about my own failures and those I observe in the world. Life itself is a cosmic joke."

He wraps it all up with the now-infamous lyric: "She left me for a guy who's working in PR / He's putting out a press release that I'm crying in a bar."

Then there's 'jerry', a track about spiralling into imagining your ex's perfect new boyfriend. "You start spiralling into paranoid thoughts about who might replace you in your ex's life, imagining what they're like and how they live. For a while, it completely breaks you, and in your head, you almost build this AI version of their new partner.

Ben credits Sabrina Carpenter as a lyrical influence, someone who can be funny, self-aware and sincere at once. That spirit threads through the EP, where jokes are often followed by moments of real emotional gut-punch. "If you suffer for your art, small plates is where you start," he sings on 'birkenstocks'. 'nts' takes aim at music bro pretension and 'jolene' explores overpriced coffee shop existentialism.

Not that Ben is trying to write with a listener in mind. "I think that can get you into tricky territory. I write for myself and try to create songs I would want to hear. If it doesn't make me laugh, or if it doesn't feel a little uncomfortable for me, I probably won't finish it."

He estimates that about 75% of what he writes is true. The rest is embellished, spliced together from stories, or creatively warped into something that still feels emotionally honest. "There's always a bit of truth in it, because you need that for it to feel real. My goal is to write songs that people will want to listen to now, in 50 years, or even 100 years and hold close to them in their lives."

That emotional honesty extends to performing, where Vegas Water Taxi have quietly become a word-of-mouth live favourite. "I've realised that the trick to being in a band is surrounding yourself with people who are much, much better musicians than I am. Charlie and Fred are amazing, singular guitarists and great writers, and Molly's voice adds some actual vocal ability to the tracks. I get to sing my silly little words and chords and they do all the proper work."

He's still tired - who isn't? - but still in love with the process. "I really do enjoy it. I'm a bit more tired than I used to be, but I love those moments when you realise you're making music with your friends."

The idea of "success" has changed since the Lazarus Kane days. "Maybe when I started, I thought I could do this full-time one day, but that's probably never going to happen. We all work full-time, and that's okay because I know I love it and I sacrifice a lot of time to make it happen."

He's already working on the next thing, though he's not saying much yet. "I've also started writing another album, which is slowly taking shape. My life has gone through a lot of changes recently, so I'm processing that and figuring out what to write about now that things are in a much better place than a year ago. So there are some seeds of ideas."

For now, he just wants people to hear the EP. "'long time caller' is out October 3rd and it's really, really, really good." It is. Vegas Water Taxi's EP 'long time caller' is out now.