The Streets - Everything is Borrowed (2008)

Download Album:

Purchase CD:  

By Tyler Mathes

I am a fan of The Streets, but disappointingly I have found that each of their albums to be less exciting than the one that came before it.

Debut effort "Original Pirate Material" was a little ripper, as clever and original as anything released in recent memory. The follow-up "A Grand Don't Come For Free" also impressed with its linear story-telling and catchy singles.

The success of that album and subsequent over-indulgence was documented with mixed results in "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living". Let's face it... it sucked.

Now we have the forth title from Mike Skinner & Co in "Everything Is Borrowed", which when I received it, filled me with hope that it would buck the trend.

The most glaringly obvious thing about "Everything Is Borrowed" is that Skinner has shifted from cynical, self-centred hedonist to born-again, altruistic philosopher.

Prior to the release, he told fans that this one would have a 'peaceful, positive vibe', and he wasn't lying either – this is The Streets album to put on next time your grandparents are over for afternoon tea.

Much of the appeal in the best Streets songs has come from Mike Skinner's ability to make trivial things seem important and important things seem trivial - but here he really zooms out to focus on the bigger picture.

Far removed from his more trifling concerns about the amount of fake-tan applied to the chick he is chasing, or the burden of the camera phone to the recreational celebrity drug user - the main themes here are appreciation of life and the relative insignificance of the individual in the grander scheme of things.

And this is all great, good on him. But as a listener, its just not as much fun.

With a mellower Mike at the helm, the new songs lack the energy and bite of earlier efforts from The Streets like Turn the Page and When You Wasn't Famous. Newbies like The Strongest Person I Know and Heaven for the Weather are enjoyable enough, but no where near as striking and immersive as classics like Blinded By The Lights.

Normally the scallywag in Skinner would always provide a few laugh-out-loud moments on each album, but his trademark humour is all but missing from this love-in.

All that said, "Everything is Borrowed" is by no means a bad album. The melodies and beats are skilfully crafted, and remain a cut about most of his contemporaries. A richness is added by using real instruments in most of the songs, in the place of the samples that dominated previous albums. Many of the lyrics are quite thought-provoking, and the rhymes are still highly original and often surprising in their structure and flow.

However, there is just very little that sparks genuine excitement.

The album is bookended by its two best songs (opener Everything is Borrowed and closer The Escapist) but neither are fighting for a playlist position at your next party.

So, as happy as I am that Skinner has found contentment, I really did enjoy his music more when he was pissed off.

He has said that the next Streets album will be the last, and heres hoping it will be the first to improve on its predecessor.

RATING: 2.5 out of 5

Download Album:

Purchase CD:  

Brought To You By The Dwarf