The new Streets album, "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living," is something of a metamorphosis for Mike Skinner. I remember the first time I listened to "Original Pirate Material" on the recommendation of a friend, and I couldn't help thinking that it was the perfect hybrid of hip-hop and some everybloke's delusions of Guy Ritchie film grandeur.

However, after "A Grand Don't Come for Free" Skinner is nothing short of a bona fide celebrity across the pond, and he's not about to profess that he's the same nerdy stoner he was before the transformation. The result is an album that draws the fine line between the good natured and pure ball-swaggery, the fine line between loser and geezer.

The Streets - Can't Con an Honest John
The Streets - Hotel Expressionism

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