The Streets’ “Going Through Hell” has already been out for the better part of a year, which almost defeats the purpose of my writing about it here, but since it was put out as a single only a few days ago, I’ll give it a go. After all, I completely missed out on his latest album Computers and Blues (2010), and haven’t really liked anything of his save for several of his early songs. I found myself appreciating his aesthetic more than any of his actual songs.
The cool thing about Mike Skinner’s project was that it was a unique spin on hip-hop. His attitude, his voice, and the backing tracks were all very much unlike mainstream hip-hop, or even most acclaimed underground hip-hop. His voice is very disarming, with a thick British accent. It benefits from its presentation, with him almost talking rather than barking or howling at you. He doesn’t come at you with an aggressive or threatening ethos, nor does he tend to boast, self-aggrandize, or put anyone down. In addition, his fondness for the acoustic guitar, piano, and actual instruments for that matter is endearing.
My problem with “Going Through Hell” is that it sounds kind of phoned-in. “Going Through Hell” features Rob Harvey, vocalist for The Music, and his contribution really brings the song down. I love The Music, and Harvey’s voice is part of the reason for that, but here he needs to sing with some more emotion, more energy, and more volume. Harvey sings the chorus, which is overly simplistic (“If you’re going through hell, If you’re going through hell, If you’re going through hell, Keep going”) and he does so without the sort of anguished holler that makes his own band stand out. The Music’s hi-fi, electronically-aided style isn’t really The Streets’ game, so I understand why he doesn’t sound like himself, but I found the end result rather dreary.
Skinner’s lyrics are also fairly dull. He’s rapping about how you need to dust yourself off and move on when life gets you down, but he doesn’t say anything especially compelling on the topic (that is, if there remains anything compelling to be said). Gems like “If you fall down five times, rise up six” and “If you can’t join them, beat them” are not at all inspiring.
Harvey also sings on the bridge, and his voice is again the problem. The two vocalists should stand in stark contrast, but since neither seems to be putting much enthusiasm or emotion into the song, the differences in their voices aren’t as striking as they could be. As a result, the whole song just fades into the background. The beat, which is centered around slabs of distorted electric guitar, is at least adequate.
So, not only does this song fail to do anything hip-hop is supposed to do (inspire, energize, intrigue), it also fails to do anything I think music is supposed to do (communicate something of substance). It doesn’t have anything especially catchy, as it is rigidly midtempo, and so I can’t even call it a fun listen. The Streets may be a breath of fresh air in some ways but on “Going Through Hell,” Mike Skinner proves that sometimes being unique isn’t enough.
Walking is Still Honest 