Since retiring The Streets in 2011, Mike Skinner has undergone a couple of musical incarnations: the D.O.T and Tonga Balloon Gang. His latest is The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light, which is just Mike himself. Following on from two other tracks dropped on SoundCloud last year, Bad Decisions in the Night is Skinner/The Darker’s first release on Spotify.
Opening with Mike’s mellifluous tones, Darker paints a picture of the many twists and turns a night can take (if you’ve ever been to one of Skinner and Murkage Dave’s Tonga raves, then you know exactly what kind of twists we’re talking).
As ever with Skinner, there are moments of glorious observational poetry in the middle of more stark thoughts around fights, wraps and smoke rings. “Balcony, balcony wow it’s not really me — talcum powder!” he yelps before turning direction. “Still raining on the pavement, still raving in the caves/Shouts in a foreign language, sounds of some foreign anguish.”
Punctuated with the odd Skepta-esque “jheez” the track is otherwise pure Skinner. Cerebral, sparse, strangely familiar, the downbeat tune manages to encapsulate the best of Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don’t Come for Free, but from the perspective of a man who’s partying past his sell-by. It’s all about Mike’s brilliant observations, relayed plainly but powerfully. “Broken crayons still colour,” Mike points out towards the tracks close. Press play and lose yourself in the sounds of Skinner’s night.
Read: From Murkage to Mealworms, Mike Skinner reveals some of his favourite things.
Credits
Text Hattie Collins