• Laconic Brit emcee drops his poppiest disc yet.

Many writers' early works tend to be at leastsemi-autobiographical, following that old adage, “write what you know.” MikeSkinner's (also known by the baffling plural The Streets) first two albums werean honest, grimy look at the English working class lifestyle that wouldoccasionally touch upon metaphysics and other such lofty topics. The HardestWay to Make an Easy Living, Skinner's follow-up to his excellent sophomore hit A Grand Don'tCome for Free, borethe hallmarks of early onset creative stagnancy — it was solid but ultimatelydisappointing, as it too-consciously traded on the success of Don't Come forFree. Skinner'slatest, Everything is Borrowed, is like the novel that takes a critical darling to thebestsellers wall — interpret that as you will.

Borrowed is the most eminently listenable album Skinner has everproduced. It's also the most pop and the least difficult. The contentoscillates between fun, bubblegum theology and Skinner's usual tracks on hiscomplete bemusement in the face of the opposite sex. Though the realist elementof his shaggy-dog storytelling has been maintained, it almost feels as thoughSkinner has traded “poignantly ordinary” for “playfully mundane.” Still, whileit's always nice to be challenged by the art we enjoy, there's nothing wrongwith taking a break to read a drugstore paperback, either.