Turns out Mike Skinner only pawned his soul sometime during the making of ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’. ‘The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living’ then went on to sell a few copies, leaving Skinner with enough cash to get his soul back from the pop demons. Sounds like he’s pleased with the reunion too; he’s ploughed it all back into his latest LP ‘Everything is Borrowed’, a title which complicates the metaphor further – maybe the soul wasn’t ever his, maybe he’s borrowed it back. Who knows? Just be glad he’s back on form.
His lyrics are introspective, his voice sounds humble once more and even some of the production is a la ‘Original Pirate Material’. Where production differs, Skinner displays punk, folk, modern electro-indie and 30’s Western bar music influences with some openly poppy leanings. The track titles seem to be taken from a phrase dictionary making for interesting subject matter.
