The Streets - The Escapist

Either Mike Skinner is a Machiavellian genius or he's had the most stock-standard, accidental career ever. Either way, it's made for (mostly) gripping music over the past 8 years. 2006's The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living garnered mixed reviews thanks to its strangely over-the-top portrayal of fame and celebrity but now The Streets are back with The Escapist, the first single from Everything Is Borrowed. Where Hardest Way.. was full of fast paced beats, over-indulgent lyrics and Skinner's manic, uneven delivery, The Escapist is, in a word, peaceful. With his penchant for unusual rhythms, Skinner and co. keep it simple and interesting over the beat while he slowly (almost lazily) drawls about 'weeks of peace on a beach'. It remains to be seen whether he can maintain this sound over the course of an entire album without succumbing to gimmick or mediocrity - Hardest Way... works more as artistic statement than enjoyable record, after all - but The Escapist is a good first step.