The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free

Melissa-Ann Tan • UrbanWire

British band, The Streets 's A Grand Don't Come For Free is the epitome of music that's trying too hard to be avant garde . You can't really tell if it's music or whether the guy behind the band, Mike Skinner , is just babbling utter rubbish.

The entire CD has Skinner "rapping" in a monotonous voice with profanity uttered too often for comfort between repetitive beats that are assured to give you a headache if you listen to it for too long.

The beats run counter to your expectation of rhythm. The bass, though consistent, is annoying. Instead of relaxing your mind as music generally does, it stiffens your muscles into a cramp leaving you cringing from brain-splitting pain. I doubt that the local radio stations will play music of this standard unless of course they'd rather their listeners stop listening.

The album speaks about his life from how he meets this girl he thinks is hot in "Fit But You Know It" to the one song that is remotely tolerable in the entire album, "Dry Your Eyes", which talks about moving on after a rough breakup.

What sets that song apart is the fact that it actually has a melody and less annoying sounds in the background. This song also sticks to simple clean and non-intrusive chords. Perhaps if Skinner had stuck to something along the lines of this, his other songs might have been okay.

Apart from that one song, all the others are barely distinguishable with thumping noises and Mike doing more talking than rapping in the background. You might even forgive the guy if he were passionate, but no, the entire tone of his music is completely idle, as if he couldn't care less about who or what would be listening. It's boring to say the least.

After listening to the CD multiple times to let it have its fair chance, I'm tempted to invest in a new computer just because the one I've been playing it on has been "tainted". That's how bad it is. Frankly even being condemned to listen to William Hung forever sounds like a more attractive notion right now.

The Verdict

Even if A Grand Don't Come For Free were really free, you'd be better off giving it a miss.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars