Album Review: Man Like Me - Pillow Talk

Mike Skinner of The Streets has brought his record label The Beats back from the dead just in time to co-produce, mix and release the second offering from Camden duo Man Like Me. Frankly, Skinner seems to have bet on the wrong horse with this one. Save for a few fleeting moments of delightful frivolity, Pillow Talk isn't exactly easy to listen to – which almost makes no sense, because the album is predominately made up of catchy garage-infused electronica with witty lyrics that touch on girls, dancing, and all the easy-to-digest topics in between.

There's no denying that Pillow Talk is fun. The songs are undeniably catchy and the glimmers of '90s nostalgia in the form of wonderfully cheesy dance numbers are just that – wonderfully cheesy (big ups to the sax solo at the end of Sleaze). It's just damn near impossible to get past the slurred vocals of Johnny Langer. At times they're forgivable, appropriate, even; as exemplified in Braindead, in which they work well with the carefully drawn out beats to support the lyrical content of the song. For the most part, however, there isn't much to love about the erratic fluctuation and sluggishness of his voice, and in Fleetwood Mac (a song about dating a girl still in high school), it's really easy to hate the guy.

The production on Pillow Talk is incredibly well-crafted, but it doesn't take long before the album wears thin. Even if you can overlook Langer's drawling, there's constantly far too much going on; it's difficult to maintain an interest with so much happening.