As he returns with his first Streets collection since 2011, the rounded vowel rapping of Mike Skinner sounds rather less startling than it did when he emerged at the start of the Noughties, mixing Brummie observations with pirate radio beats.
Slowthai and Sleaford Mods have both proved that a Midlands accent is still no barrier to musical success. Meanwhile, Niko B’s Who’s That What’s That, a current chart hit about taking the gherkins out of a Big Mac, revels in the mundane in a similar way to Skinner at his peak.
Now he’s a father of two in his forties Skinner’s likely to hit the youth culture references with less precision. He takes the pressure off by calling these 12 tracks a mixtape, not an official album, and by sharing vocals with newer acts on every song. It’s an eclectic line-up, with Kevin Parker of Tame Impala providing a dreamy chorus on Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better, and Idles frontman Joe Talbot hollering over the intimidating bass of the title track. Ms Banks is on showstopping form, announcing on You Can’t Afford Me: “I’m from M&S, babes/You got a better chance at Lidl’s.”
Stylistically it’s all over the place. The rubbery UK funky track I Wish You Loved You as Much as You Love Him is much more enjoyable than the moody piano of Conspiracy Theory Freestyle, on which Skinner’s sluggish rhyming sounds particularly rudimentary. Not everything here is a great fit, but if you liked him then, at least a few songs will appeal here too.
