Mike Skinner’s new found fame has transformed him from drunk-and-stoned, rebel voice of the underground to cocaine-snorting, hedonistic hip hop star. Thankfully he’s maintained his sharp wit and top-notch storytelling in the process. With his signature, cockneyed British talk/rapping over electronic pop beats he simultaneously laments and glorifies the hard-living rigors of a non-stop-party, tabloid-eye lifestyle. He also leaves room for some amusing self-deprecation when he observes that trying to get a famous girl makes you feel like “When You Wasn’t Famous” and admits that he’s relatively unknown in the U.S. on “Two Nations.” For the third album in a row, he’s delivered an impressively bold, original and sometimes hilarious bunch of hit-caliber anecdotes.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “When You Wasn’t Famous“; “Memento Mori“; “Prangin’ Out”
Medium Rotation tracks: “War of the Sexes“; “Never Went To Church“; “The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living”
Grade: B+ (Slight chance of making my Top 20 Albums of 2006)

(As posted 5/15/06 on davepowersmusic.com)
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