Laid

When producer Brian Eno stepped in to helm the band James’ sixth album in 1993, he heard more than U2-like stadium lilts and ambient pop. He heard a sextet’s big-as-the-sky songs, with singer Tim Booth adding lyrical empathy in a voice that whispered and soared with equal aplomb. Eno harnessed it into what the band called “a journey of self-discovery.” The beautiful “Sometimes” metaphorizes that discovery; it’s about a boy keen to be struck by lightning, built on driving acoustic guitars that become a kind of harmonic drone behind Booth’s bell-like voice. The title song soundtracked several American Pie films, but that’s no slight; the song is a knowing wink to loss of innocence (involving androgyny) and features rapid-fire refrains, mounting soundscapes (lots of it acoustic), and a deceptive dance beat. The gentle “Knuckle Too Far,” “Five-O," and the lovely “Lullaby” are perfect, trancelike comedowns from so much thunder and lightning. The album’s total blue-beautiful moment is the pleading and folky “Say Something,” which combines a New Order–ish bassline and simple bustle with inescapable melody.