Streets of Heaven, the first studio solo outing from former Dire Straits bassist John Illsley since his former band went the way of Margaret Thatcher, sounds an awful lot like, well, his former band. No matter, it’s the best parts. You can almost feel the rain in your bones and cold English weather settling into your soul, mucking about with your reserve via the opening “Toe The Line” and others such as “Tell Me”, and the haunting “Only Time Will Tell”. It’s not all stormy weather, there’s the (relatively) raucous “Is It Real” and odes to truth and beauty throughout. The overall mood of the record is ultimately—and decidedly—staid, but for those of us who miss the quieter moments of Dire Straits, this is the perfect album with which to combat that loneliness.