Everything is Borrowed, the fourth album from The Streets, has big job to do. Fans want it to make up for its predecessor, The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living, and return Mike Skinner to the heights he attained on his first two albums. Alas, it falls short.
Musically, Everything is Borrowed is a solid album with plenty of the surprisingly simple hooks that have always caught the attention on Skinner's better albums. Sadly, however, the lyrics don't match up to the music, and for someone with a reputation built on a crystal clear delivery of faux-naif street poetry, weak lyrics are a serious problem.
The weakness is easy to understand: his early material about being skint and unsuccessful can no longer ring true, while more recent efforts concerning success and wealth tend to alienate listeners, but the decision to opt for cod-philosphising instead is one that’s just as sure to disappoint. You can decide how disappointing by listening to our full review on The Leisure Lab.