Jonny Greenwood writes orchestral scores; Thom Yorke programs glitch beats. Drummer Phil Selway, evidently, spends his time off from Radiohead as a closet art-folkie. His debut reveals a delicate high-tenor voice (akin to Yorke's but less tortured), using acoustic guitars in songs that recall U.K. brooders John Martyn and Nick Drake. Wilco's Glenn Kotche and Patrick Sansone build backdrops; Lisa Germano, whose fragile songwriting seems to have influenced this introspective set, adds harmonies. "What we see in the cold light/Can scare us all," Selway whispers on "Don't Look Down," a gorgeous ballad that visits dark places, as do other songs. You expected "Kumbaya"? News flash: Radiohead officially have another songwriter.

“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.