Daylight

1998 release featuring 'Bite Your Tongue', the follow-up to his Gold debut album.

Originally written off as a nonthreatening rejoinder to Jeff Buckley, Duncan Sheik has quietly redeemed himself since his self-titled 1996 debut. Trading in the airy detachment of previous releases for a more immediate sound, the New York singer-songwriter's fourth album fizzes with electronics, distortion, and a newfound pop sensibility. Producer Patrick Leonard (Madonna, Jewel, Elton John) keeps things bright and breezy, forcefully shaking Sheik's predisposition for Nick Drake-style moodiness on wonderfully optimistic numbers like "On a High" and "Start Again." But the most surprising twist comes from "On Her Mind," cowritten with Mick Jones of Foreigner, a track that fully dramatizes Sheik's desire to breathe new life into his folk-rock roots. --Aidin Vaziri