The Streets' second album, A Grand Don't Come for Free, boasts more songs about drugs and girls, all recorded at Mike Skinner's home. The album is set for a May release.

Grad follows the Streets' 2002 debut, Original Pirate Material, a commentary on Skinner's everyday life in England, a record that was decadent, funny and mostly recorded in his bedroom. Two years later, not a lot has changed. "I moved to a new house," says Skinner, 23. "Got rid of the old mattress. But it's a very similar setup -- just me in a room, with the girlfriend lying in bed trying to sleep while I'm making songs."

Skinner's latest doesn't alter the Streets' electronica/hip-hop mix much, though the beats are faster. The title comes from the opening track, "It Was Supposed to Be Easy," which imagines Skinner losing lots of money. "Oh, I've lost a thousand pounds in many different ways," he says. "Some of them illegal. But in the song, you really don't know why."

Another cut, "Dry Your Eyes," is a breakup song Skinner recorded with Coldplay's Chris Martin, who was subsequently taken off the track by Martin's skittish record label. As for the replacement, Skinner says, "Oh, I don't know. It's just some guy my publisher knows. He doesn't sound like Chris Martin."

KIRK MILLER
(February 18, 2004)