Mike Skinner is, first and foremost, a poet. And as poets do, he manipulates his language to express his experiences, his opinion on society, and most importantly, how he makes meaning out of life today.

Backed by beats that instill his lyrics within a hip-hop framework, The Streets are poetry for a new generation. A generation mauled by technology and never-ending innovation, looking for a brief pause, a moment to think things over. Computers and Blues is a result of one of those moments, full of rich reflection and instrumentals that put human nature and development under a microscope for examination.

In case some readers are not familiar with The Streets, it solely consists of Mike Skinner who is from outside of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He released his first album, Original Pirate Material, to critical acclaim and has since released four more, Computers and Blues being his fifth and final.

What could an album entitled, Computers and Blues possibly be about? Yes, computers, the very thing that epitomizes the technological advancement and constant interconnectedness that defines our lives today. But when paired with “blues,” Skinner is implying that perhaps these screens and machines are not so good for us.

And he is absolutely right. In his song, “Trust me,” which presides over a catchy 70s inspired disco beat, he inquires upon the anonymity of the internet saying, “We all fear of company/But we are fierce anonymously/Enter shit on the internet/Clashing people, chatting evil.” He implies that real life connections have been exchanged for cyber interactions. “The Robots are taking over” takes that idea a step further, confronting this attitude that “We are not progressing/but technology does.” Skinner perhaps is saying that technology is moving so quickly that it is getting ahead of everyone – and the necessity of human-to-human interaction is being downplayed.

Connecting to this idea of human interaction is the phenomenon of mobile phones which Skinner confronts in the addicting song “I love my phone,” where he confesses, “How would I survive/ without my outside line/to the doubting life/in the inside lining of my trousers tonight?” Skinner is saying what everyone wants to say, we are all addicted to our phones and we know it. But it is too late to do anything about it. Within that addiction is a sense of guilt – so much of ones life depends on a small electronic devise. How did we get to this point?

Yes, life is on Skinner’s mind. In “Lovelight of my Life,” he ponders what makes people like each other in the lines, “The lovelight of my life/is 82 percent water/it’s a mystery being mortal.” If humans are 82% water, how much substance can they have?

It is these peculiar, yet insightful ideas that are the driving force behind Skinner’s success. Aside from his deep thoughts, his wordplay remains one of the most interesting things about his songs. Sometimes this banter can seem confusing and void of meaning at the first listen, but his witty lyrical style takes getting used to. The beats are not too shabby either, using samples from voices, and catchy instrumentals to guide these messages.

This may be the last album from The Streets, a group that informed a generation of young adults of the perils they were going through. Mike Skinner remains a poet, always pertinent to the issues of today, informing his listeners to take a step back from their computer screens, and just think.

4 stars out of 5