Even if you’re just a casual fan of The Streets, it is safe to say 2006’s The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living was a disappointment. Since that album, fans have waited with bated breath for rapper Mike Skinner to live up to the potential he showed in early works like Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don’t Come for Free.
Thankfully, Everything Is Borrowed — Skinner’s fourth effort — satisfies these hopes. While not ground-breaking, the disc clearly gets back to the place where A Grand Don’t Come for Free left off. Indeed, one of the most notable difference between those two albums isn’t musical — it’s the change in Skinner’s perspective. His latest album shows a great amount of change in his life views, and thankfully, Skinner’s grown decidedly more optimistic.
Most of The Streets’ appeal lies in their simplicity — Skinner made magic out of working-bloke wit and uncomplicated hooks, and his lyrics rarely strayed from the recurring themes of clubbing, failed courtships, petty crime and his newfound fame. Lately, however, The Streets’ music has grown tremendously — not just in content, but sound as well.
Skinner has benefited greatly from adding more instrumentation to his formerly stripped-down, minimalist style of rap. The album as a whole has a far clubbier feel, and the listener has far more opportunities to sing along instead of to just listen to his flow. Skinner also showcases his newfound lyrical ambition by tackling issues such religion, mortality and even, yes, the environment.
The disc’s opening title track sets the tone for the entire record with a meaty musical arrangement performed by legitimate musicians. “Everything Is Borrowed” has a fully fleshed-out sound and profound, optimistic lyrics. Over the lush beat, Skinner sings, “Memories are times we borrow / for spending tomorrow / I came to this world with nothing / and I leave with nothing but love / Everything else is just borrowed.” This is pretty insightful stuff coming from a guy known for rapping about the partying habits of London’s youth.
The rest of the tracks give Skinner the opportunity to display his views on just about everything. We get thoughts about religion and secularism during the album’s weakest moment, “Alleged Legends.” Here, Skinner sings “Do what you thinks right / You will feel alright / Cause when you do bad, you’ll feel sad / That’s the religion I live by.” Unfortunately, his anti-religious message is marred by simplistic lyrics that seem embarrassingly sophomoric, especially in contrast to the album’s numerous moments of greatness.
A notable example would be the sweeping arrangement and lyrical prowess of “The Escapist,” already released as a single and my personal favorite track on the album. Written about a man leaving prison, the track manages to skillfully convey the simple joys of living life without venturing into cheesy territory.
If nothing else, Everything Is Borrowed will definitely help The Streets reclaim their title as a critical darling of our time. Fans also should be excited to listen to Skinner rap about topics he previously left untouched, with surprisingly insightful and profound results. Miraculously, the album leaves the listener both fully entertained and uplifted at the same time.
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