THE STREETS

The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light (679)

Twelve years since their last studio album, The Streets go back to their roots with something just short of a comeback. Following a collaborative mixtape in 2020, the focus returns to the unmistakable cadence of frontman Mike Skinner. Sometimes poetic, often witty, he conjures images of the UK club circuit through observational lyrics. Whilst the last Streets album was soulful and symphonic, on The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light, Skinner goes for sparsity and rawness.

The tracks often have the naivety of a demo but the mastery of two decades in the business, deploying snippets of garage, grime, reggae and house without fully committing. Troubled Waters is the standout lead track, drum’n’bass on a theatrical scale, and as for the title track, think lindy hop meets hip-hop, with the profound title delivered in typically tongue-in-cheek fashion: “Can’t have it nice all of the time. The darker the shadow the brighter the light.”

words ROSANNA LEWIS