James

britpop

James emerged from their native Manchester in the mid-'80s playing a brand of urgent, ringing guitar pop distinguished by Tim Booth's keening, insistent vocals. Booth's dramatic stylings and James' dedication to textured guitars earned the group the designation of the next Smiths, a connection strengthened by Morrissey's endorsement of the band. By the dawn of the '90s, James shook off these comparisons by embracing acid house, the first of many adventurous left turns the band took over the decades. Sit Down, an old open-hearted tune re-recorded for the age of baggy, proved to be their breakthrough, reaching number two in the U.K. in 1991 and becoming an alternative rock hit in the U.S. With its singles Sound and Born of Frustration, Seven consolidated that success in 1992, but it was 1993's Laid that established the group's mature sound. Working with Brian Eno, the group took aural risks that paid off artistically and commercially: the title track became their biggest American hit. From there, James had a flurry of activity in the late 1990s before entering a hiatus in 2001. The band regrouped in 2007, releasing Hey Ma the following year and then settling into a groove where they alternated tours with ambitious album projects such as 2010's two-part The Night Before and The Morning After, as well as 2021's pandemic journal All the Colours of You. James formed in Manchester in 1982, when Paul Gilbertson (guitar), Jim Glennie (bass), and Gavan Whelan (drums) met Tim Booth (vo...