In Brief

*** 1/2 James, “Laid,” Fontana/Mercury. The worst you can say about this album is that it is a bit too derivative of the Velvet Underground. Helped along by Brian Eno’s airy, atmospheric production, the British band finally captures the promise of its earlier efforts in a smart, moody melange of emotions, most affecting on “Out to Get You” and the title track.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).