Album Review: Computers and Blues - The Streets

****

I must admit I'm a late adopter when it comes to The Streets. Whilst Mike Skinner was making his greatest impact, back at the turn of the century, I was far too enthrall to The Strokes led, NME coined, 'New Rock Revolution' to appreciate him.

Over the following decade however, my respect for his talents has burgeoned to the point where I have finally invested in an album, financially as well as emotionally...

Computers and Blues is an impressive mix of skilled word play and dry observation, but on the face of it, Mike Skinner's earnest philosophising could be seen as bordering on the trite. "If you're going through hell, keep going" he opines unhelpfully at one point, channeling the vocals of Robert Harvey - The Music front man and omnipresent force throughout the album. Nothing to challenge Nietsche there you'd be right to think.

However, for every excruciatingly overwrought 'epiphany' - the likes of which are found again on Roof Of Your Car - there's a moment where Skinner's honest and straightforward touch really does make its mark.

A Blip On A Screen, for example, benefits from a stark and touching simplicity, describing a new father's emotion on first seeing evidence of his unborn child - "I fix and I plan/but this is just mad/I love you/You're only 100 pixels on a scan."

Puzzled By People offers further glimpses of inspiration. "You can't Google the solutions to peoples feelings" seems such an obvious remark to make but belies a hidden insight.

Of course, the appeal of Computers and Blues isn't just the underlying theme of survival in our technologically fraught world, there's the heady mix of tunes that add dynamism to Skinners peons on modern life.

We Can Never Be Friends inevitably lends itself to comparison with Dry Your Eyes and, in fairness, it doesn't fall far short; another heart wrenching tale of love lost and the strength required to accept the harsh realities of such.

At the other end of the spectrum, Trust Me is an urgent, grimy and beat laden affair. It's hard not to fall for Skinner's witty whimsy found in lines such as, "I see Alice in Wonderland/I see malice in Sunderland" which sound anything but the work of an act nearing retirement.

Alas, retirement is inevitably where this album finally rests its focus and, once closer Lock the Locks fades from the speakers, it's all too clear that the UK music scene will be much the lesser for The Streets departure.

Whatever Skinner turns to next, The Streets lasting legacy will undoubtedly be the ability to marry thoughtful word play, witty observation on modern life and mass popular appeal. No mean feat.