"We can never tell when our particular magic will occur," says Larry Gott of James' improvisational approach to songwriting. "It happens sporadically and often when we least expect it."

When the guitarist quit the band in 1995, there was little chance of that magic happening at all. His absence helps explain their subsequent loss of momentum and revolving-door lineup ? but it was the 2001 departure of frontman Tim Booth that finally brought everything to a complete standstill.

The inevitable return of the guitarist and the singer was heralded by last year's greatest hits collection, with two new songs hinting that the reformed group had recaptured at least some of the magic. 'Hey Ma' delivers on the initial promise.

Reuniting the seven men responsible for 'Laid', it's easily their most consistent work since that 1993 career highpoint ? even if they try too hard to recreate those heady days. With Andy Diagram's trumpeting, and Gott's guitar flavours (fiercely strummed acoustics, chiming electrics) making a comeback, memories of 'Sometimes' and 'Say Something' are never far off.

Yet songs like the strident title track, with its anti-war lyrics ("Hey ma the boys in body bags / Coming home in pieces), and the slow climbing battle cry 'Bubbles' are amongst the best James have recorded.

Look beyond the filler ('Of Monsters, Heroes and Men' plods along the middle of the road to nowhere; 'White Boy' plunders all the band's cliches; and the instant 'Oh My Heart' has little staying power), for future classics like the atmospheric nod to past collaborator Brian Eno 'Semaphore' and grand finale 'I Wanna Go Home'.

Likewise, tribute to migrant labourers 'Upside' packs meaningful lyrics into a mass-appeal melody, subdued celebration 'Waterfall' is a stark reminder that every silver lining has a cloud, raw jam session '72' and devastatingly beautiful 'Boom Boom' are reminders why, for one brief year, this eccentric little band from Manchester were compared to the likes of U2 and REM. Everybody else may have forgotten, but the resurrected James clearly haven?t.