Establishing the mood with an ultra-dimensional synthscape, Tom Wills opens his cover of LAID (originally by James) with euphoric dance-floor notions and a joyous frequency. Fans of Robyn will absolutely be able to connect with the production of the track by Sholz-Y.
Tom shares a pristine pop vocal with the iconic opening line of the track, “This bed is on fire with passionate love, the neighbours complain about the noises above, but she only comes when she’s on top…”
For some context, LAID is about an intense, chaotic and obsessive relationship that swings between passion, jealousy, manipulation and notions of emotional instability. For this version though, there is some charm to it! Tom Wills has transformed it into a dance-pop commentary on the original, and the result is quite cerebral.
Sure, the lyrics mix sexual desire with dark humour and toxic behaviour, which feels kinda zeitgeist, something you might see in an Emerald Fennell film like Saltburn, or an episode of Euphoria. It’s escapism, yet nostalgic, yet futuristic, but all in all genius. As an LGBTQ+ artist, Tom has intentionally reclaimed the gender-expansive lyrics, “Dressed me up in women’s clothes, messed around with gender roles, line my eyes and call me pretty.”
He shares how this all clicked after seeing James perform the song live, and says, “I grew up with this song, but it wasn’t until I was older that I really understood what it was saying to me. Those lines about gender fluidity, breaking the rules, the song was ahead of its time. I wanted to bring that energy to the dancefloor for 2026.”
The addictive and destructive lyrics also feel like a wider metaphor for society today. There are themes of possessiveness, blurred identity, obsession, and emotional dependence at play, which we cannot seem to escape despite recognizing how unhealthy the relationship is. This is where it really rings true to the wider self-destructive and hedonistic reality that we all face as a species.
We love Tom’s re-imagining of the track, and have added LAID to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Tom Wills, including Mid-Night Moves, and Let Me Go.