Timid Tiger is a German band proud of its DIY approach, from song-writing up to mixing in their own studio and putting their music out via their own music label. <The Streets Are Black> is their third album. They describe their music as: "From dusty 60's beats and shady 70's grooves to catchy 80's keyboards and contemporary Hip-Hop electronicas. From old to new school". Let's get some of the criticism out before we settle to go beyond it, the rapping just feels out of place and not that well incorporated, it'd have been better either by getting someone more adept to guest on the album or by those parts being simply a spoken word. It'd have also matched the lyrics and music better; it would have made it more evocative, more genuine, and more alive.
The music though is a nice chilled out affair with a slightly nostalgic and melancholy vibe going on yet when the bits of reggae come in it cheers up somewhat. Without the Hip-Hop the vocal matched that chilled out mood quite well, though up to the third half of the album, maybe due to the production issues, it felt at times weaker than the music and not lending itself to being felt very easily. 'Back From Hell' was the best song where the vocal is more out there as it should have been throughout, the music has a cool lose vibe with an element of theatricality and is capable of getting the listener to be more engaged with it, have some fun with it. 'Every Time We Talk' just demonstrates that the spoken word parts are more suited than rapping. I'd give them a chance even if I have some qualms about it for the promise they have, their lyrics are really good, and the music has coolness about it and the possibility to enjoy it during a summer evening on your day off.