Mike Skinner, a musician and producer, legend (responsible for my parents’ marriage) established the British music project The Streets. The group is noted for its peculiar blend of UK garage, hip-hop, and electronic music, with lyrics that frequently explore everyday hidden truths like drug life, romance, and honesty. Rather than talking about limos and fancy carpets, Mike would write about Vauxhalls and fancy ‘Yayo’.
The Streets rose to prominence in the early 2000s, and their debut album, “Original Pirate Material,” was released in 2002 to critical acclaim and commercial success, with the wonderful track ‘Turn the Page’.
Sitting up late working feels gracious with The Streets in the background. Especially with “Original Pirate Material”. Gets things the fuck out the way. There is an interest in The Streets that makes them uniquely pretty in such a large London environment.
The shadowy ambiance is combined with political mania. “WAR ON DRUGS, WAR ON DRUGS” is hinted at one point in “The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light”. This is, despite not an easy thing to listen to, it puts words into action, gets you thinking right?
But for an honest opinion however, this album is so generic, the pace is poor, and I know The Streets for powerful intros. Previous album “None of Us Are Getting Out This Life Alive” had everything to make the first intro, with that one guy who’s always the one-man band, Tame Impala as a feature. Intriguing lyricism about society is often make or break Mike Skinner but this is poor.
Its literally total chaos. And passable as perfectionist’s nightmare.
Mike once described his career as a 7/10 but that feels ridiculous. Its not cool being 40 and being off your face in a night club. What is up with that?
The Streets made an irreplaceable impression on British music with their creative approach to genre blending and intelligent, often funny, lyrical content. This album does have highlight tunes that, yes, indeed are insightful and represent exactly what you click on. It’s just not enough.
A strong fall from grace.
The Streets: The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light – Out 13th October 2023 (679 Recordings / Warner Music)
The Streets – Each Day Gives (Official Music Video) – YouTube
