The Streets
The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living

THE REVIEW

Apparently for twenty-seven-year-old Mike Skinner, the sole proprietor of the 'The Streets' brand, “the hardest way to make an easy living” means still having something to say.

With the previous "A Grand Don’t Come For Free" (2004), Skinner had reached the pinnacle of success, especially in England, thanks to the indolent ballad 'Dry Your Eyes' and the catchy 'Fit But You Know It', a fun garage-flavored plagiarism of Blur’s "Parklife".

Two years later the boy from Birmingham, who “sings” (the quotes are necessary since the good Skinner at most recites his own verses) with the typical London cockney accent, gives the impression of having run aground. The sharp and ironic lyrics of 'The Streets' about the dangers of celebrity – the opening of the single "When You Wasn’t Famous" unmistakably addresses the cocaine-addicted model Kate Moss – are no brighter than any joke about Lapo Elkann. It should also be added that many of the musical bases chosen for this album are rather banal: the initial "Pranging Out" and the subsequent "War Of The Sexes" best testify to Skinner's creative standstill.

The tearjerker "All Goes Out Of The Window" should, in The Streets' intentions, repeat the success of "Dry Your Eyes", but the feat seems arduous. "Hotel Expressionism", thanks to a riff as repetitive as it is effective, remains the best track on 'The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living'.

Success may not have gone to Mike Skinner's head, but it certainly has emptied it a bit; here in fact ideas are in short supply and not even our guy's charm can hide the evidence.